


The Sword and the Storm

by Tmpp



Category: Original Work
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Comedy, Drama, F/F, Fantasy, Original Character(s), Slow Romance, Swords & Sorcery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-06
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2019-07-07 17:01:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 133,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15912519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tmpp/pseuds/Tmpp
Summary: Traveling workaholic lady knight saves raggedy vagrant sorceress from becoming dragonfood.Raggedy vagrant sorceress saves traveling workaholic lady knight from becoming a human roast.They say overcoming adversity together forges stronger bonds than anything.But what separates pity and affection? What separates duty and determination? Dependence and desire? Coincidence and fate?Through hundreds of miles and dozens of shared stories, only time can tell.





	1. The Forest and the Fright

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first proper novel I've ever attempted to write, so all constructive criticism is more than welcome!
> 
> I reserve all of the rights to cover embarassing plotholes retroactively. Though hopefully my inner perfectionist is sharp enough to weed 'em out before they happen.
> 
> Also, please point out any format weirdness or gross discrepancies to me through PMs or something, I do my writing in LibreOffice and copypaste it here so something may get lost or screwed up.

 

_Predicament_

 

The Forest of Alaum was blooming in the height of spring, full of color and sound; the melodious concerto of various kinds of birds trying to impress their mates, the yowling of juvenile animals taking their first tentative steps out of their dens, the booming footsteps of a massive blue-scaled dragon crashing through the trees... the profuse swearing of its prey.

“ _'It's only a small one,'_ yeah right! _'Probably a baby frostwyrm,'_ my ass!”

A whip-like crack of lightning shot past Irika's right ear as she kept running as fast as her legs would permit, away from the hulking monstrosity that was one stumble away from making her its dinner.

The annoying part of her brain was reminding her that she should count herself lucky that it wasn't in fact a frostwyrm, for somehow a dragon the size of a small house had ambushed her while she was cooking some river fish. The dragon's first breath had hit her squarely in the back, but instead of the snap-freezing death she had expected, she had felt a comfortable tingle of the dragon's lightning energizing something in the pit of her stomach.

For she was a sorceress – or that's what they called the skilled ones anyway. To her surprise more than anyone else's, she had found herself very, _very_ fortunately immune to this particular dragon's brand of electrifying magic. She doubted that having a deeper affinity with the element of lightning than she had previously thought would make her immune to being crushed by the dragon's jaws, though, and that's why she was now running. As glad as she was to be protected from the thunder wyvern's magic, the beast seemed to also be protected from hers by the same grace. The dragon had also noticed this, for it was now focusing increasingly less on trying to electrocute its prey, and more on simply trying to eat it.

Various scenarios of torturing her current employers flashed through Irika's imagination, as her mind was looking for reprieve from the abject terror and panic. She had tried thinking of a rational plan of action whilst running, but planning had never been her strong suit. All that came to mind now were ways of getting back at the bastards responsible for sending her on this 'easy' little hunt.

Her pursuer was no longer a youngling, but – thankfully, Irika thought – could not yet be considered mature. As far as she'd heard, dragon young were little more than large animals; easily distracted, easily tricked and fairly easily killed, for a trained soldier anyway. Which Irika was decidedly not. Mature dragons on the other hand were terrifying beasts of legend, which possessed a cunning, almost human-like intellect. They could easily outsmart and outmaneuver unwitting prey, and were equipped with both powerful magic and strong scales able to withstand massive amounts of punishment. The particular specimen hot on Irika's heels seemed to be in a growth stage somewhere in between the two; not yet smart enough to take flight, form a plan and cut her off, but not dumb and weak enough to easily lose an agile prey either. This did not make Irika feel much better. Neither did tripping on a tree root.

Irika fell face-first into the turf, reflexively tumbling into a crouching position. The athletic but pointless maneuver was not enough to make up for the lost pace, as the wyvern rounded in on her. Irika hissed and tried to find a way out. None came to mind that didn't end up in the wyvern's gullet. She clawed for a clump of dirt and flung it at the dragon's mean face. It bounced off its forehead, accomplishing exactly nothing.

“ _Crap.”_

Irika rolled out of the way of the giant beast's foreleg, as it tried to either pin her down or crush her – not like the end result would be any different either way. She dodged another paw. And another. There was no time to pick up and run anymore. The dragon let out an annoyed growl, took a step back, and started snapping at Irika with its huge but surprisingly agile jaws.

The burn of exhaustion from every muscle in Irika's body was starting to seep into her mind.

“ _This is really it huh? I couldn't protect you, mother... I'm sorry.”_

After a short, desperate dance for survival, Irika's legs gave out from under her. The wyvern lifted its head, and Irika was certain it was _smirking_. Mocking her. Reveling in its superiority and its victory of the chase. This made Irika even more mad than the fact that she was just about to get eaten.

“Come on then you big hunk a'crap, I swear I'll pull in your tongue with me and make you CHOKE ON IT!”

The dragon's eyes flashed with something like anger. It seemed to understand Irika's words, or at least their resounding rudeness. It let out a deep growl, and lunged at her with open jaws. The wyvern's feasting growl was cut by a strange sharp crash, as it abruptly lurched downward, its jaw hitting the ground with a dull thud. Irika looked up to see whether something heavy had landed on the beast's head, when a torrent of dark blue blood crackling with magic flowed out of the dragon's throat and around its head. The rapidly fulminating blood started pooling on the ground and forming small rivulets that flowed down into the undergrowth, wilting it as it enveloped the roots and stems.

Chest heaving with strain and shock, Irika stumbled backwards, up onto her feet and looked past the glazed eyes and majestic horns of the wyvern. Its great neck had been cleft clean through, quite probably by the person now crouching down right next to it, holding the hilt of a sword plunged into the ground.

It took a moment for Irika to notice that her mysterious savior was also straining to breathe, and seemed to be convulsing in great pain. Realization hit her as her foot touched a puddle of the dragon's ceaselessly sparking blood, and produced an arc of static that tingled her toes. _She_ might be unnaturally resistant to this particular strain of magic, but _others_ usually certainly weren't. She rushed to round the dragon's severed head and laid her hand on the stranger's fist, knuckles white and clutching the sword like a lifeline. She'd been right; the stranger was desperately struggling against the violent electric energies within the blood that was freely flowing from the dragon's neck. Long, disheveled dark red hair was covering the stranger's downcast face like a curtain, pained groans issuing from beyond.

Irika found herself acting on instinct. She had never seen or felt anything magical of this magnitude before, and the entirety of her sorcery training so far had been restricted to accidentally shooting bolts of lightning at her mother whenever her temper had flared. She forced herself to even her erratic breath, closed her eyes and tried to focus on the dragon's cursed blood assaulting the stranger. Her teeth vibrated unpleasantly as the foreign magic started flowing out of the stranger and into herself, as if seeking shelter.

As soon as she felt the stranger's fist relax and unclench, Irika gave them a strong push to separate them from the sword and the blood, now focusing instead of culling the flow of the perverse draconian magic. Her own muscles spasmed intermittently and sweat was pouring out of her body, as the vast supply of thundering magic within the mystical beast's lifeblood flowed seemingly endlessly into her. The pools of unnaturally gleaming blue blood on the ground started evaporating, releasing clouds of static and filling the forest with harsh crackling.

Irika's body rose several feet off the ground, slightly arced backwards as if floating in water, with thin tendrils of lightning shooting in and out between her and the remaining blood. Her eyes flickered a blinding blue with every thunderbolt, her mind was numb with the overpowering magic, her lungs paralyzed with the breath she'd been drawing in for Gods knows how long... Irika screamed.

 

 

_Ariel in Alaum_

 

Heavy, metallic footfalls shattered the peace of a small forest clearing that small animals often used as a food gathering ground. The clearing was a spot at which the main road split, extending straight east, west, north and south like a compass, shaded by a canopy of oak trees untold centuries old. Some ways to the west the forest thinned and turned into farmland, through which the road eventually lead to the small but wealthy Mercenary State, the home nation of the forest's steel-and-leather-clad invader.

Ariel had kept a good pace since crossing the border between the State and its neighboring country of Stenning, within whose borders the Alaum forest also resided. Eager as she was to keep moving, the clearing and its curiously symmetrical crossing made her stop to look around. Shafts of sunlight pierced the canopy here and there, yet the thick oak forest provided a refreshing reprieve from the late spring sun overhead.

The road from the State and through the farmlands had been extremely well-maintained despite seeing much travel; the same deliberate quality of gravel and dirt extended towards the west, but not the north and the south. Those paths looked significantly more worn, and seemed to narrow down considerably not far from the clearing. On one corner of the crossing Ariel could see a fire pit and some long benches, although they were not currently in use. Two large, rectangular patches of slightly cleaner ground stood out at the roadside next to the resting spot.

“ _Caravan carriages or merchant stalls perhaps?”_

This seemed like a popular resting spot for humans and animals alike. Another corner bore a large sign with a stylishly carved plaque pointing in each cardinal direction, and smaller wooden plaques fastened to each one with hemp yarn. Ariel had to step in closer to take a look at the signpost in the shade of the canopy.

 

_North_

_Cuanwar - 40 miles - WARNING! Orc band sightings!_

_Cuanlast - 88 miles - Do not travel alone or unprotected!  
_

_Cuanheim - 180 miles_

 

_West_

_Brunn - 38 miles - Beware of landslides during the rainy season!  
_

_Hilders - 77 miles_

_Erwayn - 162 miles - Ferry service back in business - 24th day of the Fourth Moon_

 

She had to bend down to read the lowermost plaques.

 

_South_

_Thousand Pikes Mountains - 25 miles - Olivar's rest stop closed until further notice.  
_

_Crag Hell - 60 miles - Feel free to take refuge inside – but please clean up after yourself! -Olivar_

 

_East_

_Weilz farmlands - 10 miles - Fresh spring produce, see Scher's Shoppe in Weilz!_

_Weilz - 20 miles  
_

_Capital City - 52 miles - FVkk MErCIE CVNTs i HOP U aLL Di_

 

The last sub-plaque gave Ariel slight pause. It was a neatly crafted wooden plaque hung onto the main signpost just like the others, yet the jarring unprofessionalism of it compared to the other information signs made Ariel bark out in laughter. Several of the critters around her bolted away from her in alarm. A squirrel was angrily chattering at her from the branch of a nearby tree.

“Mercie cvnts indeed,” Ariel said to herself in amusement. “Do you think so too, little friend?” She looked up at the angry squirrel and sighed. For she was indeed one of the famous and infamous Mercenary Knights of the Mercenary State.

The Guivvallon Militant State Mercenaries, as they had been known in the past – now known to most people as merely 'State Mercs' or 'Mercies'. The latter name was often a cause of much ironic scoffing, as mercy was a non-mandatory virtue for the State Knights. They were known to be brutal, efficient, and extremely open to offers of employment, as long as they were not pitted against their own, or against unarmed civilians.

The smaller nations of the continent had all but abandoned their own efforts at forming an official militia out of their populace, and instead relied on State Mercenaries for border protection. As long as the contract held, those Mercs would effectively be members of the nation they were guarding, and would go down fighting for it. This unwavering loyalty to the contract had made State Knights both respected and shunned, for most common folk tended to consider them nothing more than emotionless war machines fueled by greed. The fact that they would often unabashedly use magic in public didn't help, either.

The country itself had long since shed its original founder's name, and adopted a much more succinct 'Mercenary State' as it's official moniker. Their national crest of three crossed swords atop an anvil was still known as the Crest of Guivvallon, and all Mercenary State officials bore it from initiation to honor their first General. It was a small country, but possessed the most skilled military force on the entire continent. Over ninety percent of its inhabitants were somehow involved with the military. The remaining small percentage were mostly merchants and craftsmen, merely enjoying the perks of the State's protection while not exclusively catering their craft unto it.

Ariel was brought back from her short mirth-turned-melancholy reverie by a nut that fell down from above and hit the top of her head.

“I get it, even the forest wants Mercs out,” she said to herself sardonically, and resumed her solitary trek towards the east. She had only been walking for a scant few minutes, when a loud noise from further ahead raised her neck hair upright. The noise was not unfamiliar to her, but neither was it welcome. The roar of a dragon.

“ _Here,_ _In Stenning?_ _Why?”_ Ariel mused. Dragons were almost never seen this far south of Cuan. She broke into a brisk jog, moving as fast as she could without her armor causing too much of a clamor and possibly drawing the dragon's ire. The dragon seemed to be rushing – oddly – along the ground, crashing trees out of its way.

“ _Is it hurt and unable to fly? Is it running from something or after something?”_

The sounds of the beast's thrashing veered off the main road and into the woods. Ariel considered her main mission for a split-second, before deciding a slight detour would be pertinent – especially when it concerned something as unusual as dragons. She gave chase after the beast, now abandoning stealth altogether, for the dragon was unlikely to hear her over its own rampage anyway. Soon enough Ariel caught sight of the large blue wyvern, who was now roaring and snapping at something.

“ _Thankfully not a mature one,”_ she thought, exhaling in relief.

She slowed down and took into the trees away from the rough path the dragon had cleared, and circled around to witness the scene. Finally she saw what the dragon was after – a young girl in tattered traveling clothes, shouting profanities at the dragon and narrowly avoiding getting crushed by its forelimbs. Ariel didn't have time to be impressed by the girl's agility in the face of the gigantic beast, as the girl fell backwards, evidently thoroughly spent from the chase. Ariel dashed from amidst the trees, unfastening the massive greatsword strapped onto her back in a single swift motion. If not for the short pause the dragon took to admire its prey, she would not have reached the dragon in time. And if not for her immense faith in her strength and in her sword, she wouldn't have even dreamed of attempting what she was doing right now.

She turned her sprint into a spin, the muscles in her chest and arm bulging under the strain of the furious blow, as she brought down the giant blade down one-handed at the dragon's exposed neck. The peculiar, pale ivory blade cut through the dragon's scales, sinew and bone with more ease than even she herself had anticipated, and crashed into the soil under the beast's freshly severed head. Ariel barely had the time to pull the sword away from the wyvern's corpse, as a spatter of the magical beast's blood caught her uncovered arm. Her body immediately seized as if electrocuted. She instinctively grounded herself with her sword and crumpled over it, struggling to breathe. Disorganized memories of the corrupting influence of dragon's blood in the few books she had grudgingly read flickered in her mind, but were drowned out by the electrifying pain that scorched her sanity and cause every muscle in her body to convulse.

“ _So much for the contract, I guess.”_ The thought burst out of a defiant part of Ariel's mind, like a final bubble of air from the lungs of a drowning person. She was sure she would die right then and there, untrained and unable to withstand an internal magical assault such as this.

She had been unaware of the warm hand of another pressed upon her own, until the chaos in her mind cleared enough for her to realize that she seemed to be not dying, but instead rapidly regaining breath and control over her mind and body. The excruciating burn of the lightning magic was swept out of her body as if someone were sucking it away through a straw that was inserted into her right hand. Ariel breathed hard, now noticing that she was drenched in sweat, numbed by pain and lying on the ground, thoroughly alive. She grunted and reached at her sword for support, only to notice that it was now several feet away.

“ _How did I get over here_?”

She looked up at the person she vaguely remembered having come to her aid. The young girl, who had been designated the dragon's prey, was now suspended in mid-air, crackling with unbound energies like an elemental straight out of a magical tome. Ariel shakily clambered onto her hands and knees and gaped at the small, frail-looking victim of the storm before her.

“ _Is there anything I can do to help her? Surely she's going to die!”_ As soon as Ariel finished the thought, the girl screamed.

The scream pierced Ariel's skull harder than the dragon's blood had. She covered her eyes just in time to block the incandescent flash of blue-tinted light lashing out of the hovering girl, as the electrifying magic finally settled into her body with a strange, drawn-out rushing din that sounded as if reality were playing backwards. The forest was still.


	2. The Merc and the Mendicant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not quite a meeting!

 

_Fatigue_

 

For the second time within five minutes, Ariel found herself lying on her back in the underbrush, not quite sure of what had just happened. She was trembling from head to toe and struggling to take short, shallow breaths just to keep herself conscious. Merely the act opening her eyes to meet the waning sunlight filtering down from above seemed to take more out of her than she had left in her. In the past she had been run ragged with training, exhausted by combat, wracked by fever, and even tortured for a night, but this was the first time in her entire life that she felt so completely and thoroughly weak.

“ _Magic is terrifying, no wonder everyone hates it,”_ was the topmost thought floating in her tired mind, as she slowly went through every part of her body, as if cataloguing that everything was present and accounted for. Her toes and fingers seemed to be responsive, and her brain felt like a warzone, so her head was probably also still on. “ _No lasting harm done then I guess... physically anyway.”_

It took a long while for Ariel to even think about getting up. If not for the discomfort of the rocks and tree roots pressing at her armor under her back, she might've considered just lying there until someone came to investigate the dragon's path of destruction and found her. This train of thought reminded her that the main road was not traversed only by the reputable sort of people, and a woman lying helplessly on the ground would be a welcome gift for more than one type of scum. That repulsive thought alone gave her the strength to heave herself over with great effort, and lift herself up onto shaky feet.

Vertigo threatened to make her keel over again, but Ariel stiffened her aching muscles and managed to stand her ground against it. The white haze slowly dissipated to reveal a very gruesome, very peaceful scene. The dragon was dead; as to be expected from a creature separated from its head. There was no trace left of the blood that had been gushing out of its neck, save for patches of wilted undergrowth around the beast's corpse. Ariel's sword was still sticking out of the ground a few steps away, and next to the sword lay the girl. A mysterious oxymoron of a girl.

“ _She was all but dragon food, yet she cast out such ridiculous magic... What the hell even is she? What the hell even_ happened _?”_

Ariel's head throbbed way too much to start puzzling over the girl or the magic she had shown, for the knight herself was completely and utterly not magical. Most knights at her rank knew at the very least some cursory spellcraft for fixing broken gear or healing cuts and bruises, but Ariel had always had – as her instructor had put it – 'the magical talent of a trout.' She took a few tentative steps towards the girl, expecting to be assaulted by another wave of vertigo, but one didn't come. Her body seemed to be slowly regaining its strength again as her breathing calmed down, not unlike after a strenuous bout of exercise.

For the first time Ariel had a good chance to look at her rescuee... “ _or rescuer? Both the one and the other, I suppose.”_

The girl was haggard and dirty, with the general look of a vagrant. She was wearing a tattered grayish blue tunic vest, tucked into the band of gray half-pants that were held up by a faded leather belt, on which two small leather pouches were tied with string. One of her knee-high traveling boots had fallen off, and the other one was hanging limply from her ankle, revealing thin legs covered by gray stockings with rips and cuts here and there. Her right arm was covered by a sleeve that was wrapped in a long silvery string fitted with prayer beads and various kinds of colorful ribbons, bangles and feathers. The ragged traveling cloak she likely normally wore on her shoulders lay in shreds under one of the dragon's front paws.

Ariel bent down over the girl and swept her black bangs out of her face. She had a kind, oval-shaped face, slightly sharpened by malnutrition, pale as marble and covered with freckles. Her brow twitched slightly as Ariel's finger brushed her face.

“ _She's still alive!”_

Ariel brought her ear to the girl's chest. Her heartbeat was strong if slow, and her chest was rising and falling calmly as if she were... “SLEEPING? _”_ Ariel barked out loud, making her own head twinge in pain. “ _After all that? Is this kid immortal or what?”_ she thought to herself, rubbing her aching forehead.

“Then again,” Ariel said to herself quietly, “Not like I know what using magic takes out of you... I only know what it does when used _on_ you. Haaaah.” She shot an annoyed look at the girl and regretted it immediately. “You probably saved my life some way or another, I shouldn't be angry at you for making my body ache a bit. Shameful.”

Ariel turned away from the girl and grunted as she hoisted her sword out of the ground with tremendous effort. _“Yup, still hurting. Ugh...”_ She fastened her sword onto the clasp on her back and turned back to the girl. She looked pitiful in her crumpled, tattered, defeated state. Ariel felt a bizarre pang of pity, affection and worry. She bent down to pick up the girl's boots and cloak and stuffed them into the belt of her traveling pack. Then she crouched to pick the girl up onto her shoulder.

“Sorry, it's not very dignified, but this is the only way I can carry you right now,” she said to the unconscious girl, and turned to the path ravaged by the dragon. “ _I guess making it to Brunn or even Talen in this condition is out of the question right now,”_ she thought, as she turned back west towards the forest crossing and the suddenly very inviting resting spot.

The crossing couldn't have been more than a half a mile away, yet Ariel felt like she was trudging across the entire continent to get there. The girl on her shoulder was hardly heavy, but any extra weight meant slower going, especially with muscles as sore as hers. Luckily she had had plenty of training in full-plate, wielding massive shields and greatlances. As she reached the clearance, the sun was already starting to throw its first pink and orange ribbons over the forest. They would have to spend the night here, but all in all it was not the worst possible spot for that. As long as they had a fire.

Ariel grunted as she tried to set the unconscious girl off her shoulder as gently as possible, onto one of the long wooden benches around the fire pit. The girl was still fast asleep, even when her head bonked lightly onto the bench.

“Sleeping like the dead huh... just please don't actually join 'em,” Ariel muttered as she rummaged around in the small tool pouch on her hip, and pulled out an odd-looking brass hinge with two dark stones attached to it. She had always had trouble using ordinary flint for kindling fires, so she had wracked her brain and tinkered her own little mechanism of 'quick-spark' flint for her travels. The problem now was finding dry wood and kindling.

Ariel sat down for a moment to rest her aching legs, and looked around. On the edge of the forest next to the fire pit was a small cover for firewood, which seemed to be empty. Ariel lifted herself back up with a pained groan, and walked closer to investigate. “ _Kindly restock firewood after use!”_ said a plaque nailed onto the side of the cover. Ariel glanced back into it. Still empty.

“ _Godsdamned jerks!”_ she thought as she started walking around, looking for large fallen branches and other suitable material. After about half an hour, she had collected some errant twigs and leaves, probably enough to make a small fire for now. Except most of them were damp. Ariel cussed in frustration, set herself back down on the bench, and stabbed down her greatsword for support. She had never been this tired in her life, but the fire was important. The fire was important... The fire was... it was...

As soon as she let down her guard for a second, sleep overtook her.

 

 

_Second Awakening_

 

Irika was at sea in a small boat, alone, in the middle of a violent storm. The boat rocked and rolled as she hung on for dear life. Lightning struck the billowing peaks of the surrounding ocean almost non-stop, but Irika could not free her hands to protect her ears from the deafening roaring. She tried to scream for help, but her own voice was drowned amidst the noise. She felt that if she didn't drown in the sea, she surely would drown in the sky.

Lightning backlit a giant shade swooping down from the sky, straight at Irika's boat – a dragon! The dragon dived and crashed straight into the dinghy, crushing it into a million pieces and flinging Irika into the depths. As she was sinking, she could still hear the thunder crashing into the waves from below. Crashing again, and again. Crashing... Crashing...

CRASH

Irika jerked awake. Her head and shoulders were lying on the ground, while her legs were propped up on a long, solid platform. She shifted her legs down, sat up and rubbed the back of her poor head.

“ _Huh. Guess that means I'm still alive,”_ she thought as her head throbbed slightly.

Other than the bump in her head, she felt perplexingly good. Especially seeing as the last thing she remembered was being in abject pain. She had been physically exhausted, and then battered by _way_ too much magical power, but now... She felt normal. Maybe a bit more nervous than usual, seeing as everywhere around her was pitch dark; night had fallen. She was obviously still in the forest, for most of the sky was covered by thick canopies above. Some errant stars were visible through the gently swaying branches, and the gibbous moon overhead shed some light into the darkness of the woods.

The forest was alive with the chirping of crickets and the occasional hoot of an owl, but otherwise disturbingly peaceful after all the excitement before. Irika stumbled up onto the platform she know realized was a wooden bench, and sat down. Her eyes were not used enough to the darkness yet to fully take in her surroundings, so instead she took a deep, calming breath, and started going through recent events in her mind.

“ _The dragon was not a youngling and not a frostwyrm. The clerk bastard cheated me and probably wanted me dead, just like the other thugs.”_

The first thought already brought Irika's blood close to a boil.

“ _I should've died.”_

The second thought turned her blood into pudding.

“ _Someone saved me.”_

Visions of a vague red-haired figure down on the ground on one knee flashed through Irika's mind.

“ _That person wasn't magical... At least not enough to fight the dragon's blood. Can wizards even fight something like that? I suppose they can since I could, and I'm nothing like a wizard.”_

She shuddered as she envisioned the stranger's hand almost breaking under its own strength as it gripped the sword's hilt as hard as the human body could muster.

“ _I touched the stranger's hand, I think. Then I... I...”_ “What the hell even happened?” she finished her thought out loud. She brushed her hand through her hair and absent-mindedly touched her lips, staring at the vague shapes of the surrounding forest in the night but taking in none of them. She remembered just wanting to help the stranger. And then, trying to do something to prevent the dragon's blood from pointlessly wilting more of the flora than it already had. The feeling of the stranger's hand, the pooling of the blood in the forest...

“ _I felt... I felt the magic inside the stranger's body, I felt it in the soil of the forest, and then I... then I sort of just... Tugged it out...?_ ” Irika extended her hand and pulled it back in a tugging motion, as if that would help her figure out what had happened. She was perplexed at the mere thought. How would she even know how to do that? She hadn't gone to any school, nobody had ever trained her in magic; she didn't even know such a thing was possible. From the get-go she had been operating purely on instinct, everything had been nothing but a fluke. Or had it? When she had felt the magic assaulting the stranger, assaulting the forest, it was almost like... almost as if something had guided her. Then, she had started draining the magic left in the dragon's body... Or was the dragon's magic forcing itself into her body?

“ _No...”_

Irika was all but certain that she herself had turned to the dragon and deliberately started siphoning magic from its lifeless corpse, as if directed by some urge inside her head. The sheer amount of pure, chaotic, primal magic in the great beast's blood was exhilarating, suffocating, she felt like she was being inflated like a balloon and there was _no way_ she wouldn't pop before it was over.

“ _But here I still am. Guess I didn't pop. Well, unless this is hell, but it seems a bit too cool to be,”_ she thought, smiling to herself grimly.

She lifted her cheeks up from her hands and finally started surveying her surroundings. Her eyes had gotten somewhat used to the darkness, and the light from the cloudless sky was helpful. She was sitting on a long, wooden bench. In front of her on the ground was a small divot with a pile of something in the middle. A place for a bonfire perhaps? Irika knelt down next to the pile. Twigs and leaves, it seemed.

“ _A bonfire it is, but why isn't it lit?”_ she pondered. She glanced around, and had to physically stop herself from shrieking. The moonlight found a path through the branches to shed light on the other bench to the side of the bonfire, and the slumped form sitting on it. Irika's heart hammered in her throat as she strained her eyes to see the form clearer. It was a human shape, she supposed... it seemed to have long hair, and it was leaning on the hilt of a sword. A familiar-looking sword of dull ivory sheen, with glittering gem-like streaks across the blade.

“ _The stranger!”_ Irika felt dumb to have been shocked so badly by something that had been silently sitting so close for so long. The stranger was obviously sleeping, for they undoubtedly would have noticed her shuffling around the bonfire. But why hadn't the stranger lit the bonfire?

“ _Maybe they don't have flint stones? What kind of sorry novice of a traveler doesn't carry flint and tinder?”_ Irika thought smugly as she dug around in one of the leather pouches on her belt. She realized that she had left her equipment behind onto her previous resting spot at the riverbank, on account of the sudden dragon attack. “ _Serves me right I suppose,”_ she chided herself.

Not like she absolutely _needed_ flint to start fires. She might be untrained in magic, but she could still use hers somewhat. Experienced magic users would probably have compared her style of spellcasting to trying to hammer in a nail with a battering ram, for she was usually too hesitant to use magic and almost always overdid it out of nerves.

“ _At least I've finally learned how to make small sparks, instead of burning down the entire house just trying to light a candle.”_ She frowned slightly at past memories of accidental furniture fires. “ _The light of the fire ought to gently wake the stranger up, too. I really don't want to shock her awake and end up getting stabbed.”_

She scrunched her eyebrows in concentration with her tongue on her cheek, and aimed the fingers of her right hand at the bonfire.

_Snap_

KABOOM

The entire forest shook as a gigantic thunderbolt issued from Irika's hand. The bolt struck the fire pit and blew it apart with the force of a cannon blast, leaving a small smoldering crater in its place. Irika was blasted backwards from the bench and onto the road. Apparently so was the stranger, for from the other side of the benches Irika could hear copious amounts of shouted profanities.

“Why the fuck am I on my back AGAIN, this is starting to get so. Fucking. OLD!” the muffled but unmistakably female voice shouted into the now otherwise completely silent forest.

Irika's ears were ringing slightly, but she reckoned the otherwise sudden silence was due to every animal within a mile's radius fleeing for their lives. The cursing on the other side of the benches was still continuing, but Irika started to laugh. She must've sounded like a complete lunatic to the other woman; first waking her up with an explosion and then laughing at her misfortune, but Irika couldn't find herself to care at that moment. Everything, _everything_ about the last few hours that she remembered had just been so _completely_ _insane_. Dragon attacks, ridiculous mysterious magics, sudden explosions. Her heart was stiff from uncertainty and fear, yet there was nothing she could do but laugh.


	3. The Mighty and the Meager

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally conscious at the same time!

 

_Shock and Awe_

 

Irika was still laughing, even when a metallic boot stomped down next to her head, and yet still when a rough hand lifted her up from the collar of her tunic and yanked her up from the ground.

“And what exactly is so godsdamn _funny?"_ the previously cussing, still very vexed female voice asked.

“I-I'm really sorry... Haah. Seriously. I'm so sorry.” Irika couldn't help but apologize over and over again about everything that had just happened.

She felt the other woman's breath on her face, but the moonlight was too dim to distinguish any of her facial features. Behind the woman Irika heard a faint crackling. The other woman turned around, still dangling Irika from her shirt. In the ex-fire pit, now crater, a small fire was crackling merrily. Some of the branches and twigs that had originally formed the unlit bonfire had rolled their way back down to the middle of the pit, joined by a deluge of leaves and branches that had fallen down from above from the strength of Irika's spell. The smolders of the thunderbolt had lit a cozy little bonfire on their own.

Again, Irika began laughing like a madman. The strange woman snarled and let go of Irika's tunic. Irika wobbled or her feet a little but managed to at least stop laughing. The other woman had sat down onto the bench she had been sleeping on earlier, now leaning her head on her knuckles with a thoroughly annoyed expression on her face.

“Sit.” It was not a request, it was an order.

Irika saw it best to not aggravate this person any more, and took a seat on the bench perpendicular to the one occupied by the stranger. The crater really did make an efficient new fire pit, she thought in spite of herself, and had to bite her knuckles to prevent herself from laughing again. The look on the stranger's face, now thrown into sharp contrast by the bonfire, made her shirk and swallow her mirth immediately.

"Start talking.” Another direct command.

Irika saw no point in contesting this one either, so she gulped, then talked. She was not used to talking with strangers to begin with, and the atmosphere certainly did not allow for humor any longer. Her voice got smaller and smaller as she explained everything that had happened, from the dragon attack and up until the bonfire explosion. Under the stranger's wrathful gaze, even that part didn't seem all that funny to her anymore.

The woman stared at Irika. Irika looked down at her own fists, now balled up in her lap. She hadn't given much thought to the identity or affiliations of the stranger, as she had been more concerned with the weirdness of the magical happenings until now.

“ _She doesn't seem very friendly. Maybe she helped me expecting a reward? Was she even helping me at all in the first place? She doesn't look like a bandit at the very least,”_ Irika tried to convince herself, despite knowing nothing about this person.

She had absolutely nothing of worth to give or steal. She felt a lump starting to rise up her throat and furiously tried to swallow it back down. The stranger had been quiet for a while. She was still leaning on her fist, but now gazing into the darkness of the forest, still slightly scowling but evidently lost in thought.

For the first time Irika had a chance to take a good look at the stranger. She was a tall, well-built woman, clad in a metallic half-plate vest and front-guard boots, gently reflecting the light of the bonfire. Underneath seemed to be a layer of leather, covering the gaps left in the plating, leaving no visible weak spots. A throat guard jutted out of the chestplate, partially obscured by the knee-length cape that covered the woman's left arm and hung loosely on top of her leg. A flexible shoulder guard was strapped onto the opposite side of the cape, protecting the woman's right shoulder. Her right arm was free of armor altogether.

“ _Probably for freedom of movement,”_ Irika reckoned and glanced over to the blade jutting from the ground slightly to the woman's side. It was fairly slim and very long, probably even taller than Irika herself. The blade of the sword was shimmering mysteriously in the light of the bonfire, the white marble- or ivory-like body streaked with light blues, pinks and purples of some gem-like material. It didn't look like any kind of metal Irika had ever seen, but could a sword made out of something else even withstand combat? Or cleave a _dragon in half?_

Irika's eyes shifted back to the woman. The muscles in her uncovered right arm were well-defined even when relaxed, and her posture was impeccable even when leaning.

“ _Definitely not a bandit. Probably... a soldier of some sort? A Merc?”_ The woman's dark red curtain of hair was flung over to her left shoulder, revealing an angular but handsome face, now slightly more relaxed in thought rather than tense with anger.

“ _If she put on make-up she'd probably be really popular at a brothel.”_ Irika mentally slapped herself for thinking something so rude of the person who had saved her life earlier – probably twice – and chosen not to beat the crap out of her for being insufferable.

“So let me get this straight.” The stranger's voice made Irika jump. “A _dragon. Ambushed_ you.”

“Yes.”

“And then you _outran it_ for.. at least several miles?”

“Yes.”

“You were immune to its magic and it was immune to yours.”

“Yes.” The cross-examination was making Irika sweat, and she felt as if a wrong answer would be punished somehow.

“Then what on earth did you do the dragon after I cut its head off?” the stranger asked, now more inquisitive than accusatory in tone.

Irika's mind relaxed very slightly. At least she probably wasn't going to get beaten up if she provided a decent answer. Hopefully. The problem was that she didn't know one to this particular question. She attempted to recount her previous story with more detail.

“I-... I don't think I did anything to the dragon. I think you made it very dead. But I realized that you were being hurt by its blood – dragon's blood is pretty nasty stuff, I think,” Irika answered meekly. Her confidence was sapping with every word. “B-but I seriously have no idea what I did, I just reached you and I- I felt the magic that was in you but it was not yours, r-right?”

Irika couldn't help but stutter. She now had barely any confidence left in her own explanation, and looked up at the lady knight, almost pleadingly. “The magic in you, it felt... It didn't belong. So I- I drew it out. I guess. And then I drew it out of the plants cause they were dying. And then... t-then... I have no idea.” She ended her explanation with a barely audible squeak.

Irika flinched as the red-haired woman slapped her steel kneepad with a clang and grunted in annoyance. “Gah. _Shit_. Relax, kid. I'm sorry,” the stranger said, deflating herself a little. “I'm too used to interrogations, and this should not be one. You saved my arse back there so I should at least give you the courtesy of not making you scared out of your godsdamned wits.” She heaved a long sigh, and Irika's tension seemed to unwind with it.

Irika took a deep breath as well, gathered her courage, and asked. “What's your name?”

The woman blinked at her. “Oh, yeah, that's right. I didn't even introduce myself. Guess I was too busy being exploded awake.” Irika could swear she saw the corner of the woman's mouth twitch a bit. “I am Ariel von Heide, a knight of the Mercenary State.”

Irika drew a sharp breath in surprise, for she knew that the stranger's surname implied status. “Wow, a _noble_? I've never met one in person before!” she exclaimed, her meekness now forgotten in shock.

The knight harrumphed softly. “A noble only through occupation. I was born to a blacksmith, into an ordinary family, and prefer to consider myself as such... But I was... I am a member of the Landsknecht of the State.”

Irika failed to notice the apprehension in Ariel's face and voice as she stated her regiment. Instead her head swam as she flipped through memories and stories she had heard and read of the noble order. “The _L_ - _Landsknecht_? Isn't that the General King's elite guard? The top fighters in the entire _world?”_ she wondered, and felt slightly embarrassed hearing the childlike awe in her own voice.

But this _was_ sort of a big deal. As far as Irika remembered, the Landsknecht only numbered a less than a hundred, with usually less than ten new members knighted into the order for every ten years. They were very rarely seen outside the Mercenary State, apart from accompanying the General King on state visits, and historically on war efforts pushed forward by the General King personally. As far as Irika had heard or read, no such campaign hadn't been wrought in several decades.

“That's the one. I'll ask you to leave your questioning about my occupation there, though, as it is not something I can freely discuss.” The knight's voice had a clear tone of finality.

“Very well,” Irika acquiesced, fidgeting nervously. “A-am I being discourteous? I have never spoken with a noble before, I don't have any idea what kind of conduct is expected.”

Ariel suddenly barked out a laugh that made Irika's soul momentarily jump out of her throat. “HAH! Again, relax, kiddo. Just talk to me as if you were talking to a regular merc.” Her face shifted into a slightly uneasy expression. “And I'd appreciate if it if you didn't go around bragging that you talked to a Landsknecht either. My presence here isn't exactly a _secret_ per se, but... I'd like to preserve a modicum of inconspicuousness.”

“Of course!” Irika piped, and was struck by the horror of realization. “Oh crud, I- I never even thanked you for saving my life! I was absolutely dragon chowder back there. Oh! And my name is Irika.”

Ariel's harsh joviality had settled Irika into a slightly nervous state of ease. She was bad at talking with strangers, but talking with the rough knight was not at all unlike talking with her own mother. The juxtaposition of the two strong, loud women melded together in Irika's head, into a weird amalgamation...

“ _Knight-mother... Motherknight?”_ Irina snorted quietly to herself. “ _She doesn't seem to be THAT old... why can I not stop thinking rude thoughts about her? Bad Irika! Bad!”_ She bit her tongue a little in punishment.

“ 's fine,” Ariel responded and waved her hand absent-mindedly. “Even if it weren't my actual job to help people in need, you already paid it back by saving my behind from that grudging bastard of a lizard. Still don't quite get how you did it, but it don't really matter that much does it?”

It wasn't a question that Irika needed to answer, so she settled for a curt nod. Her head was still full of thoughts about knights, nobility, slaying dragons and all sorts of fantastic things that she had always thought to be completely irrelevant to her life. But here she was, rubbing elbows with an honest-to goodness, sword swinging, dragon slaying Landsknecht.

The haphazard fire was starting to reach the final points of its natural life. Irika watched quietly as Ariel stood up and started gathering some of the nearest branches and twigs. It hadn't occurred to her when the knight had been crouching or sitting, but Ariel was _really freaking tall_. She was easily the tallest woman Irika had ever seen, and likely taller than any man too.

“ _She's gotta be at least a head and shoulders taller than the cabaret ladies with those painful looking heels. I wonder if she's even taller than the godsdamn King himself!”_ Irika thought, catching herself staring with her mouth open, and quickly shut it. Her teeth clacked. Irika had seen The King of Stenning up close once as a child, as his fancy caravan had passed through the streets of Brunn, likely on some royal business or other. Stepping out of the carriage with his crowned head held high, he had seemed to loom above his guard and all of his subjects like some divine god-like being.

Then again, Irika's mother had always whispered conspiracy theories to her about most of the King's height actually being the magical shoes that he wore, and that he was secretly a midget. The thought had made Irika giggle back then, but now, before the amazonian knight, she could only stare.

Ariel threw her haul of wood in a pile on top of the flickering embers and unsheathed a sword from her hip to poke the fire back into a proper shape. Soon enough it was again crackling merrily, now actually resembling a professional bonfire. Irika watched the flames reflecting off Ariel's sword in mesmerizing patterns, as she sheathed it into the scabbard on her hip.

“You have the bearing of a knight and the face of a kindly mother, but your personality is pretty crappy,” said Irika.

 

 

_To New Friends_

 

Ariel had been thinking deep about her 'mission'. It made her unhappy to waste thought on the hassle of it all, but a contract is a contract, and this journey was included in hers. Never mind the fact that it was a poorly disguised ploy to get her out of the sight of the General King and as far from the Mercenary State as possible.

Her anger from before, towards the lunatic sorceress who had exploded her awake and thoroughly ruined her evening, had long since faded. First, it had turned into mildly sadistic amusement towards the small, mousey girl shaking like a leaf under her stare. Then, congeniality towards the person Irika, who seemed shy but good-natured, and mirthful despite being so disheveled and way too light for her height.

Ariel's perceived shyness of the girl sitting on the next bench over was why she was so thoroughly blindsided by her brutally honest remark.

“ _You have the bearing of a knight and the face of a kindly mother, but your personality is pretty crappy._ ”

Ariel had to replay the sentence a couple of times inside her head, to fully grasp what this pitiful beggar-looking girl had just said to an esteemed noble elite knight. She turned to look at the young sorceress, stunned. Irika seemed to be slowly coming to terms with the mortifying fact that she had just voiced these very obviously internal thoughts out loud. The girl's face was rapidly losing color, and her mouth was gaping in horror of the travesty that had just come out of it.

Ariel couldn't help it. She threw back her head, and laughed. She couldn't remember the last time she had laughed this honestly, this openly, and this hard. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she clutched her side and looked back at Irika.

"Haaah...! You're exactly right! You're so damn right! That's the first time anyone's ever had the guts to say that to my face though!”

Ariel abruptly stood up. She knew very well the intimidating effect that her stature had on most people, and as a trained knight she couldn't help but naturally draw herself to her full height. The effect made poor Irika shudder and shrink, as if she were trying to melt into the bench under her. A pang of mischievously sadistic glee passed Ariel's mind, followed by a long chiding of guilt. Intimidation of an opponent was not what the esteemed Ariel von Heide, Landsknecht of the Mercenary State, was going for this time. She was just Ariel now, sitting down with a... with a _friend_. Or at the very least someone who's neither a client, a subordinate, nor a superior.

It had been a very long time since she had last experienced the ease and the casual warmth of something like this. She attempted her kindest, most genuine smile as she sat down heavily next to Irika, and put an arm around her shoulders. She felt the girl flinch and gave her a gentle squeeze. “You're alright. Truth be told kiddo, I've always disliked wizards. A lot. You saved my hide back there and at first it made me really, _really_ mad, inside. Especially after the rude awakening.”

Irika shuddered and whimpered a little in Ariel's manly hold. Ariel gave her shoulder a friendly pat, and withdrew her arm. “Relax already, Irika. I'm not angry at you.” She tried her best to coat her voice with empathy instead of the usual cold, professional impersonality. “I'm so used to being a knight that I've sort of forgotten how to be a person.” She sighed deep.

Ariel felt her out-of-practice smile vanish and turn into a slight grimace. Irika seemed to understand that said grimace wasn't directed at her though, as she didn't flinch or whimper this time. She gazed absent-mindedly into the dark woods. “Magic users... wizards. And the like. They tend to be stuck-up as hell. Superior.” She paused after every thought, consciously stopping herself from inserting expletives before every mention of sorcerers. “They scoff at us 'muscleheads', they always think that without them we'd be useless. Or that's how it is in the State anyways.” She couldn't suppress the touch of bitterness in her voice as she continued. “I've met some wizards from out of the State too, and they didn't seem much different. They call magic 'dignified' and look down on honest physical work. Magic doesn't build houses. Magic doesn't forge swords. It's useful, but it's not everything.” She  pondered for a moment. “Honestly, I get their side a bit as well. People don't generally like magic at all. They fear it. Sorcerers have a lot of prejudice to fight through, but it just seems like they're not even trying to.”

Ariel looked back down at Irika. The girl was looking down at the colorful bangles and beads covering her right sleeve, seemingly lost in thought. From her studies Ariel knew that some spellweavers used staves, wands, or other types of foci for magical casting, while others preferred a more natural, hands-on approach to magic. Irika didn't seem to have a focus with her, but her attention at the decorated sleeve made Ariel speculate on its role in the young sorceress' spellwork. The many beads, bands and bangles covering the sublime silvery string were surely more than just adornment, especially since the girl's garb otherwise was anything but festive.

“I've never thought too deeply about my magic, but then again I've never really studied it, either,” Irika said softly. “I can use it somewhat but as you can probably tell, I'm... I'm not very good at it.” She blushed at this last statement, obviously still ashamed at her catastrophic attempt to light the bonfire, and her fit of crazy afterwards. “I know magic can't do miracles though. I've tried to heal things, and I've tried to build things,” she continued with a slightly hollow voice. “I can't do any of that. I don't even know how I would go about doing that besides just trying to focus really hard and wanting it to happen. Never worked. I know healing magic exists, and I know some powerful wizards can fix broken things and stuff, but it seems all I can do is shoot lots of lightning.” She finished her thought with a tone that was now more matter-of-fact than bitter.

Ariel couldn't help but grin at the girl's bizarre brand of bravery. She stood up and walked to her sword. The first gleam of sunrise had appeared into the horizon; they had been talking for quite a while. The bonfire was once more reduced to embers, but the creeping sunlight already lit up the forest enough to see without artificial light. “Virtually everyone in the State military can use at least some magic,” she said, picking up her greatsword from the ground with one hand, swishing it in an elegant arc above her head, and setting it onto the clasp on her back in a single smooth motion. Irika's eyes widened and admiration crept upon her face. Ariel smiled at the innocent wonder in the sorceress' eyes.

“Magic is very much recommended for trainees, all but compulsory for knights, and basically universal for the Landsknecht. There are exactly two exceptions though!” Ariel ended her statement in a toothy grin and made a victory sign with her right hand, also indicating the number two. “Wait, that sounds like I'm bragging about being stupid.” She frowned to herself.

“Magic has nothing to do with intelligence!” Irika said, looking surprised at how strong and determined her voice came out. “What I mean is...” she continued more meekly. “I'm not that smart. I'm pretty dull-witted and don't know too many things about the world. But somehow I can use magic. I have no idea why, my mother says it's a gift from the Gods, but somehow I doubt that.”

Ariel noticed the sorceress wince a little as the words 'gift from the Gods' came out of her mouth. She smiled down at Irika, and offered the girl her hand. Irika grabbed it, propped herself up and dusted herself off.

“As far as magic users go, you're definitely alright,” Ariel said, looking herstraight in the eye. “You at least seem to think about your magic and what it means to you, and know your own limits. You're considerate, despite some... mishaps. That's way more than I can say about most of the other wizards I've met," she concluded and grinned at Irika's sheepish expression.

Ariel let go of Irika's hand, chose to ignore her bashful blush, and started picking up the pieces of debris and other junk that was strewn around the campsite. Irika soon joined in the effort, and about half an hour later the site was clean, and the previously empty firewood cover more than half full of twigs and branches.

The pair was eyeing over the campsite with satisfied looks. Ariel broke the long silence. “Honestly, at this point, I'm mad at myself for being so prejudiced. You saved my arse and I'm very thankful.” She bowed her head slightly.

“You saved mine first!” Irika retorted, the resounding determination back in her voice now. “I'd be dragon food if not for you. Seriously, thanks. Lady Knight.”

She ended her thanks with a playful twirl and a curtsey, then looked embarrassed at what she had done. Ariel was starting to notice this trend more in Irika's behavior, and she was quite fond of it.

“More people ought to be as honest in their words and actions as you are, kiddo,” she said and ruffled Irika's hair with her hand. “Anyways, I guess it's time for me to hit the road. I assume being eaten by a dragon was not your quest here?”

“Err, not exactly,” Irika said dejectedly. “The dragon itself kinda _was_ my quest though.” She drew a breath as if bracing herself. “I know I've been a pain in the ass but, could you do me a small favor? I need to bring back some proof that the dragon is taken care of. And it turns out that I can't even break a scale off it with my magic.”

Ariel saw where this was going, and didn't have to think about it twice. “No problem kiddo. I was thinking about going back and cutting off the beast's horns anyway, they fetch a handsome price in the outer ports.” She pondered for a moment. “What do you say, we go half and half? Two horns each?”

Irika gaped at Ariel's response. “But you're the one who k-”

“Ah-ah-ah, save the backtalk,” Ariel cut across her. “I know what I'm worth, and I'd be worth naught as a puddle of goop next to the damn beast's carcass. Half and half or no deal.” She smiled down at Irika.

Irika grinned back. “You drive a hard bargain, ma'am. I guess I have no choice but to accept your terms,” she said, playfully elbowing Ariel's leather-clad side, then softly flinching at her own gall again.

Ariel felt a heavy, completely uncharacteristic rush of affection towards this girl she had just met the previous night. It was like a combination of nostalgia of playing together with her sisters in her early childhood, and the casual, raucous nights of revelry at the tavern with her initiate friends almost a decade ago. It had been way too long since her life had had anything to smile about, yet now she just could not stop smiling at the meek but somehow brave antics of this mischievous girl.

A part of Ariel's mind quietly hoped that their journey from the crossroads would head in the same direction. She could use some fun company on her long trek.


	4. The Horned and the Hungry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cool swords! Gross food! ENTERTAINMENT!

 

_Of Blades_

 

“Still dead.”

“Seems so.”

Irika and Ariel were standing next to the dragon's beheaded corpse. Irika still felt wary about approaching it, seeing as her magic had done something really weird in its presence before. What if it happened again? Ariel seemed to have sensed her apprehension and stepped ahead in front of her towards the beast's severed head, and drew a sword from her hip.

“ _The one she used to poke at the bonfire last night... Probably,_ ” Irika thought. Now that the sun had properly risen, she could see that the sword was like a miniature copy of the large one on Ariel's back. It looked kind of similar to the broadswords that were designated to the city guard back in Brunn, except it was made from the same pretty marble-like material as Ariel's greatsword, and it didn't have a... “ _Crossguard, I think...?”_ Irika didn't know much about weapons.

She glanced at the massive blade swinging from the clasp tied to the knight's back plate, and noticed that it didn't have a crossguard either. And it _was_ a little bit different after all – instead of ending in a sharp triangular point like the smaller sword, it ended in a jarringly flat rectangular tip.

“Let's snap the horns off this bugger and get out of here,” Ariel said and gave the dragon's inanimate neck an angry kick. The dragon didn't respond.

“Why is your bigger sword blunt like that?” Irika heard herself ask. Once again she felt the abrupt rudeness that came out of her mouth drop into her stomach like a cold brick. She really had to learn how to keep her thoughts to herself.

Ariel didn't seem to mind the question, however. Instead Irika thought she noticed an excited glint in the knight's eye as she turned away from the dragon, sheathed her broadsword and unclasped the greatsword from her back.

“It's not blunt, see.” She brought the tip of the massive blade to eye level with Irika. She revolved the blade around to give her a better look at the angles of the tip. It was perfectly rectangular, but the flat tip seemed to be sharpened like the blade of a hoe. The acute edges looked very sharp.

“Why is it shaped like that?” Irika felt a bit braver in asking, as Ariel seemed actually interested in talking about her weapons.

“Ah, but observe!” Ariel said triumphantly, plunging the greatsword into the ground in front of her and unsheathing her broadsword again. She turned back to the dragon's head, swished her sword in the air once, and stabbed the dragon's neck with it. The blade sunk in about halfway. No blood came out, and Irika shuddered as she was yet again reminded of the magical mystery that had happened the previous night. Ariel also frowned slightly as if she had been expecting blood, but gathered herself quickly and resumed her explanation.

“A sword with a tapered tip is good for stabbing soft things, such as flesh or scale. However...” She drew her sword out of the dragon's neck, and this time gave a furious stab at the dragon's horn instead. The blade was deflected off the horn, leaving a gash on one side. “Trying to pierce something rounded like this is very difficult. Now, with my greatsword...” Once again she sheathed the smaller sword, and picked up the giant blade plunged into the ground. So far Irika had only seen Ariel use her right hand for her bladework.

“ _Wouldn't a huge blade like that be easier to use with two hands...?”_ she pondered as she glanced at Ariel's left arm, which always seemed to be obscured by the elegant shoulder cape. This time she managed to keep the intrusive question to herself, though.

Ariel let the tip of the massive blade fall onto the ground as she angled the sword towards the dragon's horn using her boot. She took in a sharp breath, and with an impressive show of athleticism, kicked the blade up, and stabbed it forward. The flat tip of the greatsword hit the dragon's horn dead-on, and easily sliced through. The dislodged horn tumbled down onto the ground next to the dragon's head.

“This sword doesn't have the same problem. It is a bit cumbersome to stab with though, but I usually don't have to do it from a standing start like this anyway.” Ariel brought the greatsword onto a rest on her shoulderpad.

“Isn't it really heavy?” Irika asked.

“Wanna try it out for yourself?” Ariel grinned as she plunged the sword back down into the ground. “Go on!” she urged.

Irika gaped at the sword and took a step closer.. Even partially buried into the soil like this, it was taller than she was. Ariel was smirking next to it as if thoroughly enjoying the size comparison. Irika grasped the hilt with both hands, and grunted a little as she managed to pull the sword out of the soft ground.

The sword was atrociously heavy. It was a bit wider than the smaller sword Ariel had shown her, and for a girl of her height and strength, it was just way too big. She eased down the blade so that she could grasp the hilt better. Even with all her strength, and with the widest possible grip, she could only barely hold the tip steady at her stomach level.

“And you use this thing _one-handed?_ How the hell?!” Irika gasped as she let the tip of the sword fall back down.

Ariel laughed. “Careful planning, momentum, and training, friend. Lots and lots of training.” Her smile faltered a bit. “Way too much training, honestly.” She sighed.

Irika stared at Ariel's bicep. She certainly did look like she had done nothing but training for most of her life. She couldn't have been _that_ old, yet her dominant arm told stories of a lifetime of physical work. It looked like it belonged onto the statue of some mythical heroine.

Irika noticed a curious spattering of small scars on Ariel's forearm. They looked more like burn marks rather than wound scars. She had said she'd grown up in a smithy; had she been a blacksmith herself before becoming a knight? Was it common for people to go from making arms and armor to using them? Irika had read that some knights forge their own armor as a rite of passage, maybe Ariel had as well? Her gaze shifted absent-mindedly to the knight's half-plate. Her thought avalanche turned back to the swordsmanship lesson she had just received.

“So, if... if you're up against an enemy with armor like yours...” she said and picked up a branch from the ground. She stabbed it softly against Ariel's armor. “And you try to use the smaller sword, it'll just slip right off.” And the branch did, following the rounded contour of the well-crafted chestplate. “But if you use your bigger sword instead, it'll just punch right through?” She looked up at Ariel.

Ariel looked nonplussed. “Didn't you say you were dull-witted? That's quite the sharp observation there, kid!”

Irika blushed and looked down at her feet. She really had meant her words about her own lack of smarts, but then again she had never really had too many chances to learn beyond the few children's story books her mother had brought her, and the occasional history book or epic she'd had the chance to browse through in the city library before being chased out. "Thanks,” she managed to utter.

Ariel laid her hand on Irika's head and ruffled her hair. “Alright. How about this.” She withdrew yet another sword from her hip. Irika realized that _this_ was the sword Ariel had used as a fire poker earlier, and not the broadsword. “The greatsword is obviously a bit much for you but try this one!” she said cheerfully.

“Just how many swords do you even have?” Irika asked, impressed.

Ariel laughed. “Just three. I rarely use this one though. Try it out! Be careful though, it's _really_ sharp.” She flipped the sword over in her hand, offering the hilt to Irika. Irika grabbed it cautiously.

The shortsword was still surprisingly heavy for its small size, but certainly something Irika could handle. She definitely wasn't beastly strong like Ariel was, but she had been doing manual work for most of her life, so she wasn't strictly a weakling either. Irika tentatively swung at the air in front of her a couple of times. It felt a bit like swinging around a hoe or a hammer, with the added mental pressure of having to stop the blade properly or she'd end up cutting her own leg with it. She brought the blade to a stop and held it gingerly on top of her hands to take a better look.

It really did look like it was made out of marble – or something akin to that. This sword had the same kind of subtle streaks of light pastel colors here and there as the other two swords, forming an erratic but pleasant pattern on the blade. She turned the sword edge-on and touched it slightly. Applying only a minute amount of pressure drew a drop of blood from the tip of her thumb.

“Aich!” she gasped as the cut twinged lightly.

“Told ya, they're extremely sharp,” Ariel said cheerfully. “You've seen me handle the big one pretty roughly, yeah? And it's still in pristine condition, see?” She casually carved off a chunk of the dragon's neck with her greatsword for a demonstration. Irika felt slightly nauseous as the clump of flesh splatted onto the ground.

“What are they made of? They don't look like any metal I've ever seen... Are they magical?” Irika asked, sucking her lightly bleeding thumb. Her passing nausea was pushed away by the returned, unbridled wonder.

“It's a secret!” Ariel winked. “They're a bit special.”

“They sure look special,” Irika said. Her thoughts whirled around legendary knights and their mystical swords in the stories her mother had sometimes told her. “Don't special swords usually have a name? Does the big one have a name?”

In her excitement, Irika couldn't quite grasp the emotion in Ariel's eyes as she looked away. “Yes... Alvar,” she replied tersely.

“Heh, the sword is an old man,” Irika chuckled, thinking of the image of a kindly uncle that the name brought to her mind.

Ariel looked at her, snorted, and burst out laughing. She seemed surprised at herself every time she did. Maybe she didn't usually laugh that much. Irika didn't quite get the joke this time either, but the thought of making a stoic, professional knight laugh and relax like this brought a warm tingle to the pit of Irika's stomach, even if she was just laughing at her stupidity.

“Yes, it sure is,” Ariel finally managed to say between breaths.

“How about the two smaller ones? Do they have names?” Irika asked, looking back down at the sword in her hands.

“Yes. This one is Minnea.” Ariel patted the broadsword on her hip. “And that one is Ines.” Her face again settled into a wistful, almost sad smile, as she gazed at the sword Irika was holding. Irika had the feeling that her question had been way more personal than she hand intended. She felt a little bit ashamed of herself, and didn't press the issue any further.

“Those are very nice names,” she said instead, and held the shortsword in stance in front of her face. “Nice to meet you, Ines!”

Ariel beamed at her. “Thank you.”

Irika felt heat rise up in her face as she bashfully looked away and handed Ines back to her owner. She was not used to being complimented or thanked.

 

 

_Orcish Cuisine_

 

Ariel sheathed the blade she called Ines. She didn't mind Irika's innocent questions, but they did put her in an annoyingly wistful mood. It had been years since those names had been said aloud by anyone, and even longer still since they last left Ariel's own lips. She was glad that Irika fell silent after handing over the sword to her. Old memories had been inadvertently drudged up from the depths of her mind. She was trying her best to push them back, and failing. It made her anxious and annoyed. It was like this every time that she strayed to think about her family.

Irika was intently examining the dragon horn Ariel had severed just earlier. The glint in the black-haired girl's eye was childlike and novel, as if she had never seen anything like the smooth, curved horn of the magical beast.

“ _She probably really hasn't,”_ Ariel thought as she stepped towards the dragon's great head, unsheathing her broadsword once more. Dragons were not exactly commonplace this far south, and Irika certainly didn't look like any sort of dragonslayer or otherwise beast hunter. Ariel absent-mindedly slashed off another one of the blue wyvern's horns and watched it tumble to the ground. It briefly occurred to her that the beast's horns yielded surprisingly easily even for her 'special' sword, but her curiosity towards the skinny sorceress remained on top of her mind.

“ _She said her quest_ was _indeed the dragon though. Maybe she had only been sent to observe it?”_ she mused as she walked around the dragon's head. “ _It doesn't seem like it's a big secret anyhow, might as well just ask.”_ Another slash. Another horn clattered onto the turf.

“Hey kid," Ariel called to the other side of the now one-horned dragon's head.

“Yeah?” a slightly surprised voice called back.

Ariel casually leaned on the dragon's brow, as the young girl's head popped up on the other side of the beast's head. “Where are you from anyway? You said the dragon was your quest, but you weren't sent to kill it were you?”

“I'm from Brunn,” Irika answered, looking away meekly. “I was hired to take care of this dragon, they just... they didn't tell me it was this big.”

“They sent a _kid_ to fight a _dragon!?_ ” Ariel's question came out with more force than she had intended to. Incredulous anger at the unreasonable choice of dragon slayer was bubbling up inside her stomach. Any responsible employer would hire at least a small group of State knights for a mission like this.

“I'm not a kid, I'm of age!” Irika responded, her voice trembling with an odd combination of defiance and fear.

Ariel was shocked for a moment. This lanky little sorceress was over eighteen years old? She had thought her fourteen or fifteen at the most. True, the girl was just tall enough to be an adult, but otherwise didn't look anything like it. Ariel remembered the feeling of carrying Irika on her shoulder; it had been like carrying a young child. Her arms and legs were woefully thin, she had basically no chest to speak of, and her age was difficult to tell from her grimy, freckled, slightly sunken face.

“I see,” Ariel finally said, deciding not to comment on the girl's appearance. “You said you didn't expect it to be so big. Have you never seen or heard of grown dragons before then?” she continued.

“No, I have,” Irika responded and looked away. “But they said it was probably a baby dragon. They also said it's probably a frost one.” She seemed more uncomfortable the more she dug out of her memories. “No, that's not right either. The person said ' _I'm all but sure it's just a baby frostwyrm_ '. That's what he said,” Irika concluded, as her face fell. “I think they probably wanted me dead, or at least gone. But I had to do this anyway. They...” She swallowed heavily, as her voice wavered. “I had to do this. And I have to go back. I have to bring the horns.”

Ariel knew the desperate tone in Irika's voice, it was not unlike a soldier wishing to return home from the battlefront. Was this about Irika's family? As far as Ariel knew, a born sorcerer without training could cause more harm than good. Had she done something with her magic in the city to cause this quest? Had she been threatened, blackmailed? Irika was obviously a lower-class citizen at most, and it was not a long leap of logic to think that the people around her feared her powers, if they we aware of them. Could someone want her gone or dead purely because of prejudice or unwarranted hate?

Ariel's conscience stung a bit as she remembered what she had thought of 'basically all' magic users before. She opened her mouth, and then closed it, barely catching herself from exploding into a rush of questions too personal to ask someone she had just met. “ _Why did she_ have to _do this?”_ The question still rang in her mind, but she knew very well that sometimes soldiers indeed _had to_ do things. It couldn't have been different for ordinary folk in some situations as well.

“I'm heading to Brunn also. Or technically Erwayn, but the road goes straight through Brunn. I'll see you home,” Ariel finally said, deciding to drop the interrogation.

Irika's posture untensed considerably. “Thank you, I'll take you up on that offer,” she breathed and released her death grip on the dragon horn she'd been clutching white-knuckled. The young sorceress vanished behind the dragon's head for a moment, evidently to pick up the second dragon horn on the ground.

Ariel still frowned at the girl's situation. She looked at the last remaining dragon horn on the beast's head, and slashed it off with a bit too much wrath. The horn flew several feet up in the air, and landed point-first on the veinous, light blue tongue lolling out of the dead wyvern's mouth.

“Uergh!" she heard Irika exclaim next to her, as the girl turned away from the grotesque tongue in disgust.

“Spoken like a true dragonslayer,” Ariel jabbed. Irika's retort was drowned by the loud growl that came out of her stomach. Ariel snorted in laughter. “THAT made you hungry? Really? Want me to carve out a bite for you?” she said playfully as she tugged the horn out of the dragon's tongue.

“I... I didn't realize it because of all the excitement, but I haven't really eaten anything in a while. The dragon ambushed me when I was preparing dinner yesterday,” Irika responded in her usual meek tone.

“ _No kidding you haven't eaten anything in a while, kid,”_ Ariel thought to herself, and was struck by another pang of pity towards the raggedy girl. She shoved her two horns' share into loops on her belt, and rummaged around in her spacious pack.

“Here.” She drew out a vague slab of something wrapped in a thin piece of semi-transparent fabric and handed it to Irika. “I packed enough for myself until at least Hilders, thinking I probably wouldn't stop to restock at Brunn. But I might as well share with you and restock anyway.”

Irika took the slab and looked at it with suspicion. “Food?” she asked, sniffing the parcel cautiously.

“Yep.” Ariel didn't bother hiding her pride. “You won't find better traveling rations anywhere. It's small but amazingly filling, and lasts for a long time. Nothing like cruddy run-of-the-mill waybread. Found the recipe myself. It's basically an original!” she finished with a puff of air from her upturned nose.

She eagerly watched as Irika opened the parcel, uncovering a solid slab of grays and browns. Even Ariel herself thought it looked pretty much the opposite of appetizing. Irika didn't seem to be the kind to turn down free food though, as she carefully bit into the corner of the slab and started chewing. Her brow wrinkled a bit as she cast a dubious look at the slab.

“Hah, I know. It's not the tastiest, but what I said before more than makes up for it. You'll get used to it,” Ariel said, chuckling at the girl's face. Her chewing didn't seem to be slowing down at all even if she disliked the taste. She must have been very hungry.

“It's not bad I guess. Reminds me of... shoes... or something...” Irika swallowed heavily. “I'm not about to turn it down though if you say it's great for traveling. Thank you. What's it made of?” she asked and took another bite.

“It's an Orcish recipe,” Ariel said, grinning mischievously.

Irika choked and spluttered, and spat out the mouthful she'd been chewing. “O-Orcish?” She gagged a bit, cleaning her tongue with her teeth, and spitting on the ground.

Ariel laughed again. She felt good having laughed this much recently, even if some of it was at the expense of this haggard girl. She would pay it back to her somehow once they reached Brunn.

“Yep, Orcish. Don't worry though, there's nothing in there that humans wouldn't eat. It's mostly nuts, berries, dried and salted game, and certain invigorating herbs and powders,” she said and patted Irika on the shoulder. “It's the herbs and powders that make it taste so funny. I press it all together in slabs like this to save space,” she picked up a small stack of the bars from her pouch and showed them to her companion. “The Mercenary State is all about function over form. It's so ingrained in me that the damn slabs have actually started tasting good to me recently.” Ariel grabbed a slab of her own from her pack, shook the fabric open and bit down on it.

Irika looked at her own bar of various things uncertainly. “You promise there's no human meat in this?” Her voice was earnest.

“I promise,” Ariel responded kindly. They resumed eating their questionable lunch in silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter one of the TSotS Extras might interest you!  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/15933605


	5. The Trek and the Treason

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talk to the people you travel with! It helps to take your mind off your horrific past. Or, you know, bring you straight back to it.

 

_Rapport_

 

The sun shone bright nearly overhead, blasting the road with way more heat than it had any right doing while it was still technically spring. Leaving the mangled dragon to be found by some soon-to-be-utterly-perplexed traveler, Ariel and Irika finally started their trek east, towards the city of Brunn.

“ _Should probably take a detour through Talen...”_ Ariel thought to herself. “ _I need to send a courier to the State and tell them of the dragon._ ” “Someone's gotta clean it up and find out why it was there in the first place,” she finished her thought aloud.

“The dragon?” piped a voice from behind. Ariel realized she'd been unconsciously walking at her militantly rapid pace, leaving the much shorter Irika all but jogging behind her. “Ah sorry,” she replied and slowed her pace to match Irika's. “Used to marching. It's good for making pace but it does make me go through twice the food bars.”

“ 's okay,” Irika replied earnestly. “I can keep a decent pace myself. Your legs are just too long to be allowed.” She jerked her shoulders and shot another frightened mouse-like look up at her traveling companion.

Ariel was starting to get used to these harmless little blurtings. They were a refreshing change of pace from the sycophants and yes-men in the State. The stature of a Landsknecht came with a lot of respect and reverence from other people, but at the expense of humor and genuineness. She stopped in her tracks making Irika bump into her back lightly. She turned around gracefully, stood in attention, and looked down upon the frightened girl.

“I, knight Ariel von Heide, hereby order thee, sorceress Irika, to stop worrying so godsdamn much about your mouth,” she said in her most convincing voice of authority. She let her stance drop into a more relaxed one and ruffled Irika's hair. “You wouldn't believe the nasty stuff people say about me and the other Royal Guard behind our backs in taverns, when they think we're not listening,” she told Irika jovially, as they resumed walking at a more leisurely pace. Irika's eyes were full of questions.

“We actually used to go undercover into various revelries to listen in to the grumbles of the commoners, and see whether our names pop up,” Ariel explained and chuckled to herself. “Oh, the crude things we used to hear about the General King... We never acted on any of the grumblings of course, since it was all hot air and vain dissatisfaction. The people of the Mercenary State are well cared for, and I'm not just saying it because I'm an officer there,” she continued. And she believed it too. After all, she had witnessed the life of common folk in the State firsthand. Beggars and vagrants were very few and in between, and even they could usually find temporary employment and cheap lodging as long as they had the want to ask. The State enjoyed prosperity only in the way a small, very rich country could.

Irika was listening to her story, eyes wide. “Did your name ever come up?” she asked.

“My name did come up every now and then. There are only a handful of female Landsknecht, so naturally I mostly heard my name in male power fantasies,” she mused, rubbing her chin in thought. “And one female power fantasy. For some reason I remember that one better than the others...”

“That's horrible!” Irika said with an amusingly horrified voice. If Ariel hadn't already figured out that the young sorceress was an uncommonly genuine and honest specimen of a person, she might've taken the tone as sarcastic.

“Nah, I didn't mind it," Ariel replied. "We got some good laughs out of it. A couple times I did kind of want to just stand up, gently pat the man who was telling tales of pretend-subduing me to his friends, and invite him to try to subdue me for real...” Ariel momentarily slipped into the past, trying to grasp the thoughts she had at that time. “I think I would've enjoyed a friendly bout of wrestling with a fruit salesman about half my height,” she finished, smiling to herself.

Irika looked Ariel up and down for a moment and then giggled, evidently at the mental image of her wrestling with a midget. “I'd pay to see that.”

Ariel tapped her chin mocking thoughtfulness. “Huh. I have to remember that if I ever find myself in need of traveling funds.”

“By the way, you were right about your food bars, they are _really_ filling!” Irika said happily. “I don't think I've felt this energized since leaving Brunn.”

“Glad to hear it kid-” Ariel caught herself mid-word. “Nah, not kiddo. Glad to hear it, Irika. You know, I honestly thought that you'd be about fifteen years old at most. Never would've pegged you for being of age.”

“Mm, I can understand why. I- my family- or well, me and my mom, we're not very rich.” Ariel heard the same touch of apprehension in Irika's voice, every time she was talking about her family. She could relate. “Anyway, if I'd been eating those food bars for my entire life, I think I'd be at least as buff as you,” Irika quipped and grinned at Ariel.

The young girl – woman, Ariel reminded herself – had deflected the subject of her family into flattery fairly skillfully. “S _uppose growing up poor will require you to be slick with your words sometimes,”_ she reckoned. “It seems like you didn't pack quite enough rations for your quest,” Ariel said and stared at Irika's flat, empty belt pouches. She had seen this before too; starving travelers on the roadside, begging for food.

“You'd be right there. I haven't really left Brunn much. Like, ever. I packed what I thought was at least enough for a couple days.” Irika sneered at herself slightly. “I thought I'd make it to the forest in a day. It took me two because I got a bit lost. I thought the rations would last me both ways. They didn't even last me one way.” She sighed. “Luckily I was able to spear some fish out of the stream a bit of ways to the north from here. But you know what happened before I had the chance to eat them.”

“You got _lost?_ How? Doesn't the road go straight from Brunn to Alaum?” Ariel envisioned the road she had traversed many times on horseback.

“It does, but there's been a massive landslide about fifteen miles west of Brunn,” Irika replied. “It took the road with it, and the ridge was way too dangerous to climb through, so I had to make a detour”

Ariel pondered Irika's words. “Do you remember the route you took instead?” she asked.

“Not at all. It wasn't even a road for the most part. I took to the north at the edge of the landslide, found a road and followed it for a bit...” Irika's eyes unfocused as she recollected her journey. “The road seemed to be heading too far north, so I turned to what I thought was west at some point. Crossed the river at a shallow spot. It was mostly moors and meadows, pretty easy to traverse, so I just kept going. Eventually I hit another road and happened to meet a farmer. Or at least I think he was a farmer. He told me that Talen is about five miles south on the road, so I made my way there. Then I took a small road heading straight west from the town and reached Alaum,” she concluded.

Ariel formed a route of Irika's travels in her mind. She had always liked maps, and had studied the surroundings of her home nation carefully, so she could more or less form a clear image of Irika's journey in her mind's eye. She shuddered a bit when she remembered the warning sign back at the crossing at Alaum. _“Orc band sightings!”_ Thankfully the novice sorceress hadn't run across any on her detour towards the north.

“I see. I suppose the landslide broke the road at the river chasm then, if you didn't just circle around it and resume traveling on the main road?” Ariel could imagine the most awkward possible spot the road could've been cut.

“Yeah, that's it! Do you travel a lot between the State and Brunn? You seem to know the road pretty well.” Irika's eyes had a hint of excitement at the thought of a Landsknecht visiting her home city.

“Yes, I travel quite a bit. I'm pretty good at remembering paths and the like. I do think Brunn is pretty nice, though.” Ariel decided in favor of a flattering answer.

Irika beamed at her. “Which way should we take this time, though? I don't think they've had enough time to clear out the main road yet,” she puzzled.

“Definitely not. It usually takes at least a month," Ariel replied. "We'll head a bit further east, then take the road north to the town of Talen.” She paused to think for a moment. After finding no reason to hide her plans from her for-now-traveling companion, she continued, “I will have to send a letter to the State from Talen. Someone has to know about the dragon, it might be the sign of something more important. Dragons don't usually stray this far south.”

Irika nodded. “I thought it was strange. I only hear stories about dragons from travelers from the north, and from beyond the sea. Stenning seems to be fairly monster-free, apart from the occasional orc or two.”

Ariel settled for a curt nod and an affirmative grunt.

The forest had been thinning rapidly as they walked and talked. It turned into rolling moors with intermittent patches of woods on the north side of the road, and steeper hills rising upwards seemingly endlessly in the south. As per Ariel's recollection, Talen was only about an hour's walk from here, and the sun had not yet reached its apex.

”We might be able to make it to Brunn by tonight.” Ariel mused. ”Although we may have to travel some ways in half-light.”

”That sounds good to me, I really need to get back as soon as possible,” Irika responded, the queer sense of urgency back in her voice.

Ariel glanced at Irika. She had a foreboding feeling of something, and did not quite know whether it was dragons, orcs, or whatever was waiting for the anxious sorceress in Brunn.

 

 

_Reasons_

 

Irika cringed in pain as her back hit the hewn stone wall behind her. The man who had flung her sideways was now yelling something at her mother, the words muddled by the dizziness in her head. She slowly rose up from the floor, grasping the table next to her for support. Her hearing started coming back to focus, as she listened to the person who had manhandled her threaten her mother with something. The man shoved Irika's mother onto her bed and bent down next to it. What was he doing to her? Irika shook her head, picked up a metal candle stand off the table and rushed at the intruder.

”Irika, NO!” she heard her mother scream. She had no reason to obey her. This person had to go away. Or die.

The man spun around and backhanded Irika in the face, knocking the candle stand out of her hands. ”Insubordination, eh? Ye know tha' we pretty much own yers right now, don't yer?” His smile was full of glee as something jingled in his hand.

Irika staggered backwards from the force of the blow. She didn't understand a word that the man was saying. She looked at her mother, shivering next to him with a horrified look on her face. She saw tears in her mother's eyes.

”Get OUT!” Irika yelled in fury and punched the air in front of her with her right fist. A small thunderclap filled the inside of their tiny home, as a bolt of lightning left her hand, striking the man in his side and bouncing off to hit a coatrack on the opposite wall. The man reeled for a moment but remained standing. Irika's chest was heaving as she realized what she had just done. She had used _magic_ in the presence of a stranger. She had used magic _at another person._

”Yers a right deviant arn't yer!” The man rubbed the small burned patch on his coat, the look of angry confusion on his face slowly turning into glee. ”An' here we thought we'd just sell this broad to the guard fer hers crimes and have yers as a slave for _other purposes._ ” His crooked smile made Irika sick to her stomach.

Irika's mother was now weeping softly behind the intruder. ”I'm sorry, please don't hurt my daughter. I'll give you everything I have, just let her be. Please.”

Irika's heart broke hearing her mother plead. She had never seen her like this. Her normal self would kick and scream and swear at the intruder until they either fled from her rage, or killed her. ”No. Take me, do whatever you want. You leave my mother alone,” she said, furiously pointing her fist at the intruder.

The man flinched and looked at Irika's bangled arm suspiciously. She was tired and hungry from working, so the best she could do was throw sparks at him, but he didn't know that. He looked like an ordinary street thug, scared of any kind of magic like the lot of them.

”Yer lissen to me, bitch. Throw anothar spell at me and I'll have yer mother's skin within the hour.” The man's voice became disgustingly calm and oily. ”Do wha'ever we tell yers to do, and maybe ye'll see hers alive 'till next week.” The intruder pulled a large knifed out of his belt and pointed it at Irika's mother. Irika's blood turned to ice when she imagined anything happening to her mother.

”Fine. I'll do whatever you say,” she said defiantly and let her arm fall down. There had to be some way she could snatch her mother and run.

”Assa good girl then!” The intruder walked around Irika's mother and pulled a cord out his belt pouch. ”Yer be a good ol' lass then too, hear me?” he told the older woman and started tying her arms together behind her back.

Irika was thinking furiously. Who was this man and what the hell did he want? He had barged in their home and threatened them with something. What _crimes_ was he talking about? She looked at her mother. Her mother was looking back at her, tears rolling down her face.

”I'm sorry, Irika,” she heard her say. Her tone was definitely pleading. It was like a blow to her stomach. Sorry for what? What had she done? What could she have possibly done to make this her fault?

”What _happened_?” Irika asked her, still staring right into her eyes. Irika's mother looked away.

”Les keep the chatterin' to a minimum then lasses. We gots business to do and _yer..._ ” he pointed his finger at Irika. _”Yers_ gotta stay in line an' work yer _magic_ fer us if yer wants yer momma back!” The intruder let out a blighted laugh. ”We though' we'd just snatch a regular ol' thief and bleed hers and hers family dry!” He laughed some more.

Irika felt her fury rise again. ”Thief? What are you talking about? We have nothing!” she spat at the evil man.

”But yer _have_ , and now we know that yer does!” the man said, narrowing his eyes at Irika. ”Yer gonna work yer magic fer us or yer mother's toast. That clear enuff fer yers?” He laughed again. Irika blanched. ”Get up, follow me an' shut up,” the man said, and pushed Irika's mother out of the door. Irika stood up and followed, wiping her eyes and grinding her teeth.

They walked through the alleyways, away from the partial outer wall of Brunn. Irika considered screaming for help, but the man still had his knife held at her mother's back. Brunn was one of the largest cities in the kingdom of Stenning, and came with all of the luxuries and opportunities of a metropolis, for those who could afford it. And for those who couldn't, it usually came with all of the trouble, grime and scum of one.

They were heading towards the part of town that housed the most seedy bars and most dirty slums. Irika and her mother had lived here for a while, and she definitely didn't have any fond memories of this place.

They finally reached a building that housed one of the rowdiest bars around, harsh laughter and clanking of goblets issuing from beyond the tavern's doors. Instead of going in the main doors, the man led them behind the building and into a small annex. He roughly pulled Irika's mother to the side as he kicked open a door into the annex. He grabbed his hostage and pushed her in, then motioned for Irika to follow. She glared at the man and followed.

The annex held a large, poorly lit room with tables and chairs strewn around. There was only one person in the room that Irika could see. He lifted his head as he heard the noise from the door, and grinned a toothless grin at the arrivals.

”The broad's gots 'em then?” the man sitting in the room asked the one pushing Irika and her mother inside.

”She sure does, and guess wha'! The girl's a sorcerer!” the kidnapper responded.

The other man's jaw fell open. ”Fo' real? You sure?”

”As sure as the singe on me coat!” The kidnapper turned around to show the patch of black that Irika had caused with her weak spell. ”Threw lightning at me! Almos' shat me pants! But she'ssa weakling, couldn' even tickle me side with hers magic.” He turned to Irika with an evil grin on his face.

”What abou' the money?” asked the unknown man, who had now stood up and walked closer to investigate Irika's mother.

”Gots it right here,” said the kidnapper, reaching for his pocket and bringing out a jingling pouch. ”Had it stashed under tha floorboard just like yer saw she did.” He laughed his disgustingly filthy laugh again.

Irika looked at her mother. Her mother was still looking at her pleadingly. What was this money? Why were the men talking like her mother had had it? She really needed to talk to her mother, but doing it here would only invite trouble.

”So what the hell do you want with us?” she asked hotly, still more angry than afraid at the state of matters. Both of the men turned to consider her. The one who had intruded in their house flashed his knife and smiled, while the other man merely stared at her.

”We want yer to use yers magic to make us money,” the kidnapper said, turning his knife over menacingly.

”Really?” asked the other man.

”Yerse! Think abou' it, our own lil' slave sorceress!” The first man glanced at his partner.

”Wow. Our own...” the other one said, seemingly drifting into a daydream.

Irika felt sicker by the minute. She didn't know exactly what the two were intending to do with her, but it couldn't have been anything good. She needed to get herself and her mother out of here, out of this city. There was nobody here who would help them.

”I'll do it. Tell me what to do and I'll do it. Then you let my mother go." Irika still managed to keep the edge of defiance in her voice despite being afraid nearly out of her mind.

The men cackled in unison. ”Thassa good girl right there, she knows whassup!” said one.

”Righ'? A bit too feisty if yer asked me. Needsta learn some dis-siplins! I suppose we oughta think of a thing for hers as soon as possible!” said the other. ”Bu' fer now, in you go.” The knife-wielding man opened a door to an adjacent room and pushed Irika's mother in. ”Yers too,” he said and pointed at the door.

Irika walked in staring at her feet with her hands balled into fists. The door closed behind her. It was pitch black. She raised her hands and fumbled for her mother in the darkness. "Mom? Talk to me!" she sorceress said with open desperation, now that the aggressors were out of sight. The meek, tearful demeanor of the woman who was usually so rough and rambunctious had perplexed and scared her more than anything.

”I'm sorry, Irika. I messed up,” she heard a shaky voice say from her right.

Irika felt around until she found her mother and hugged her. ”What happened? Please tell me! I can fix this!” She clumsily untied the ropes tying her mother's hands together.

Her mother sobbed into her chest softly. ”I was tired. I'm getting old, Irika. I can feel that I won't be able to protect you for much longer.”

It was like a stab through Irika's heart. She had tried to ignore that her aging mother's movements had been slowing down little by little, or that she was sleeping ever so slightly longer every day, and still waking up tired.

”That's not true, you'll be fine!” she almost yelled, trying to convince herself more than her mother.

Irika felt her mother shake slightly in her arms as she pled with her daughter. ”You know it's true. I _know_ you do, you're an observant girl. I don't have much left in me, but I wanted to do something for _you._ You have given me so much, yet I haven't been able to give you anything.” Her shaking paused as she drew a deep breath, seemingly steeling herself. ”I stole some money,” she said.

Irika couldn't believe her ears. A confused ”what?” was all she could utter.

”I was collecting water, when I heard those two men talking about their 'reward'. I listened in. They were talking about crimes that they had committed, and jangling their coins at each other. Then they left for the tavern,” Irika's mother recounted with a shaky voice. ”I noticed a pouch that one of them left behind. I grabbed it and snuck a look, and it was full of gold. Dirty money for sure. I thought- I thought that I could give it to you, make you leave this city, and accept whatever they would do to me.”

Irika was abjectly shaken, but in spite of herself, completely understood. They had always been very poor, and her mother had always been fairly weak physically. Most of the money they had earned had gone mainly for common living expenses, and the savings they had gathered had allowed them to move out of the slums and into the lower class part of town. But that had been enough for Irika, and she told her mother so.

”I never wanted anything more than to just live in peace!” she said more hotly than she had intended. And in the end it was not quite true either, which made her feel that much more guilty.

”I'm sorry, Irika. It was as much for myself as it was for you. I've never cared for this life, never. I wanted you to have better.” Her voice was now steady and resolute. ”I still do. Whatever they tell you to do, just flee. Go somewhere else. Don't care about me, I'm already being punished for my crimes.”

”Absolutely not!” Irika all but shouted. Her mother was the only real family she'd ever known, and she wasn't about to leave her behind. ”I will do whatever these creeps want me to, I will pay them back and we will get out together. I will not let them own me or you, even if I have to ki--”

” _DON'T_ _ever_ say that!” her mother interjected. ”Your magic has never hurt anyone and it never will!” She was now sounding much more like her usual rough, cross self.

Irika's indignation melted a little from hearing her mother's chiding. ”Alright. But I _will_ figure something out. I promise.”

Someone was rattling the doorknob of their dark prison room. Irika stood into rapt attention and prepared herself for whatever came through. The man who had invaded their house peeked inside, his knife still glinting in the candlelight from the main room.

”We's got a job for yers already! Ain't yer a lucky lil' bitch!” he said and cackled. He reached into the room, grabbed Irika's wrist and pulled her out into the main room, then shut the door behind him.

”You will not hurt my mother. I will do whatever you want,” Irika said, still unable to suppress the anger bubbling out at this man.

”Feisty words from a tyke wit' no options!” the man said laughing directly at Irika's face. ”We'll keep yer momma safe in there, as long as yers bring us the gold.”

”What gold?” Irika snapped.

”This gold!” said the man, and lifted a piece of paper into Irika's face. ”Can't read can yer? It says...”

”'Dragon sighting in the Forest of Alaum, reward... twenty gold for intelligence, two hundred gold per horn and two thousand gold for absolute proof of kill',” she read off the parchment to the kidnapper's shock.

”A deviant scum wha' can read, eh? Yers turnin' out ta be more useful than we thought!” The man laughed again. ”At least yers will probably read the road signs righ' and not get yerself killed fallin' into a crag or summat.”

”Fine. I'll go kill the dragon and bring the reward to you, and then you will let me and my mother go,” Irika said, trying to sound as if she had fought dragons multiple times before. She failed.

”Kill it?” The man laughed raucously. ”Yer think yers can kill a dragon? Wit' yer pathetic sparkles?” he laughed some more.

Irika grabbed the paper out of the man's hand. ”I need to know more about the dragon and the forest. Who do I talk to about this?”

The man glared at Irika's audacity, turning the knife in his hand menacingly. ”I know a bloke at the questing hall, he's tha one what tipped me this work. Go talk ta him, name's Briant.” The man pointed the knife at Irika's throat. ”And not a word o' this to tha guard or yers know what happens to yer momma!”

”Don't worry, I understand perfectly,” Irika said, turned and walked out of the door held open by the kidnapper's partner. She could tell that the men had no expectations of her, and probably just wanted her dead by the dragon, or whatever other danger might lurk on the road. She entertained the thought of reporting the duo to the guards, but a dirty vagrant girl calling attention to some alleged crime in the slums would hardly make them perk an ear. And the original criminal had been her mother anyway! She could still hardly believe it.

Irika had lived long enough in the slums to know how a low-life thinks. The criminals had already recovered the money her mother had stolen, along with what little savings had been hidden under the same floorboard. They held all of the cards, including her mother's guilt of theft. Odds were they would just relocate out of their little annex if they didn't hear from Irika within the week. Whether or not they'd bother taking their hostage alive with them, Irika didn't want to even think about.

Her best bet was talking to the clerk, getting as much information as she could, and investigating the... the dragon. She swallowed hard. Not even in her wildest dreams had she thought she'd ever get to see one up close, much less go try to _slay_ it.

Irika fumed at the injustice of it all. She had little faith left in anyone, and the faith she had left in herself was rapidly plummeting as she strode through the grimy streets and towards the questing hall.


	6. The Gryphon and the Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the end, the real reward was all of the friends we made along the way.

 

_Loss_

 

Ariel stepped out of the meager-looking inn at the center of the town of Talen. It was a very small town, housing probably less than a hundred people, with errant farmers and orchard owners living in the periphery. She had been surprised that such a small town did indeed provide a courier service, and again when it had turned out to be a courier _pigeon_ service.

Ariel had drafted her letter detailing the dragon attack and it's sorry corpse with pen and parchment provided by the innkeeper. Before she even had the chance to ask, the innkeeper himself had pulled out a frazzled-looking pigeon in a cage from under his desk, and asked whether she needed the letter sent right away. He had seemed to enjoy the surprise on Ariel's face greatly.

“ _Simple jokes for simple folks, I suppose...”_ she thought as the innkeeper walked out after her, still chuckling to himself, and let the pigeon out of its cage. Ariel watched the bird vanish behind a copse of trees. “ _At least it's flying in the right direction.”_ The letter was not of utmost importance, but she would still rather have it actually reach its destination.

Ariel waved at Irika, who was sitting on the edge of a well in front of the inn. The dark-haired sorceress was looking at her hands balled in her lap, twitching and fidgeting ever so slightly, and didn't seem to notice her gesture. Ariel walked to her, and tapped her lightly on the shoulder. Irika jumped a little.

“Sorry. What's got you so deep in thought?” Ariel had noticed this trend of fidgeting and being lost in thought getting worse the longer into the day they went. They had spent the last hour before reaching Talen in complete silence.

“It's nothing. Are we going?” Irika asked and hopped onto her feet.

“Yep, let's go.” Ariel had the feeling that her companion had some sort of secret time constraint, but she wasn't at least showing all-out desperation because of it. Her eagerness to reach Brunn spoke of more than just homesickness though, that much she could tell. Ariel was more than tired of using her authority to demand for information from innocent people though, so she decided the friendly thing to do was not to pry. Despite this, she couldn't help but feel curious.

They set on the road leading north of Talen, and soon reached the place at which Irika remembered she'd exited the moors on her way to Alaum. Ariel saw no reason to take a longer detour through the north, so they headed straight into the rolling hills, retracing Irika's steps from a few days before. They resumed their quiet traveling as before, but Ariel soon noticed a slightly different kind of fidgeting coming from her right side. She had noticed this particular behavior before, but walking side-by side in silence made it rather obvious. Irika was quietly stealing glances at Ariel's left side and the cape obscuring it, as if trying to peek inside, then quickly turning away, looking embarrassed.

Ariel smiled to herself. The kid _did_ have sharp eyes after all. Then again, they had already spent the better part of two days in each other's presence. The dark red half-cape was very deliberately covering the entirety of her left side, and was thick enough to cast an enveloping shade within. It was mainly supposed to quell unabashed stares rather than hide a major secret. She could've just come out with it, but felt like teasing her companion a little, if only to take her mind off whatever she'd been dwelling on during the trek. “Yes?” she asked Irika, turning to look her straight in the eye and flashing her brightest smile.

“I- I.. Um.. I-” Irika stuttered. She'd been caught blurting out rude questions before, this time she seemed desperate to hold it in.

“Go on, ask!” Ariel said, widening her smile still.

Irika gulped. Ariel could all but see the internal struggle going in inside the young sorceress' head. She had deliberately said the question in a challenging sort of way, just to see whether Irika could defeat her own uncertainty.

“I- Is your left arm okay?” she finally managed to stutter out.

“What arm?” Ariel threw her cape back with her right hand and revealed the nothing that was attached to her left shoulder.

Irika gasped audibly and took a stumbling step away from her. “I- I- I- I- I I I'm sorry!!” she squaled and covered her eyes with her hands.

Ariel laughed. This girl was just too much fun to tease. Out of all the reactions she had gotten off of her missing left arm, this one was so far the most satisfying. “And now the hundred point question!” she announced gleefully, stopping and facing Irika. “Why am I wearing the cape?”

Irika seemed surprised when nobody was obviously mad at her. She slowly uncovered her eyes and swallowed a few times. “I- um. To- to hide it?” she stammered.

“To hide what?”

“Yo- your arm.”

“But I don't _have_ an arm!”

The blend of horror and awkwardness in Irika's face was making Ariel laugh again.

“You're just too funny! Don't worry about this, it happened a good while ago. I'm well over it. Besides, you've seen what I can do with just this baby.” She kissed her right bicep and winked cheesily.

This drew a shy smile out of Irika. “I- I thought that maybe... that maybe your arm was just hurt. Or lame. Or something like that...”

“Nope, completely gone. Not even a stump to wiggle around.” Ariel turned her left side towards Irika and imagined wiggling a stump where her left arm used to be. “Sometimes I can kinda feel like something's still there though... Phantom pain they call it, I think. I haven't had that in quite a while though.”

“Can I... Can I ask-” Irika still seemed extremely apprehensive of talking about the arm.

“What happened to it?" Ariel finished the question for her. "Sure. It's not the grandest of tales though and the ending is veritably dreary.” She shook the cape back over her left side and motioned Irika to resume their walking. “Did you hear about the “ _Attack of the Great Gryphon_ ” a little over a year ago?” she asked, using a mock-grandiose voice to refer to the event.

“I did! The biggest gryphon seen in centuries! Made its roost near Capital City of the State, and knights killed it, right? I- I think the newspaper said that nobody even died,” Irika chimed excitedly.

Ariel was momentarily surprised by a completely different realization. “You can read?” she asked Irika.

“Yes,” Irika replied bashfully. “My mother taught me.”

Ariel had pegged Irika for a commonplace member of the lower class. Perhaps a vagrant, or otherwise living on oddjobs and menial work. The majority of the lower classes couldn't read or write, but the larger nations of the continent usually had a cheap state service that would read or write important documents on their behalf.

“Huh. You're getting smarter and smarter in my eyes by the hour. But yes, that is the event I'm referring to. And yes, nobody did die.. the truth of it is a bit more depressing, though.” Ariel tried to settle into a storytelling state of mind as Irika was gaping up at her expectantly.

“So what _did_ happen, then?” Irika asked, unbridled wonder in her voice.

Ariel visualized the beast from the past in her mind. The gryphon and the incident weren't exactly easy to forget.

“The gryphon was indeed giant. It had made its roost about twelve miles north of Capital City, and was harassing farmers in the area. Some livestock went missing and it wasn't hard to guess what had happened to them,” she recounted, trying to bring back detail of the adventure to the forefront of her mind. “The General King is really adamant on keeping as many people as happy as possible, for happiness of the people has served our State well so far. At first, five knights of the State and ten of us Landsknecht were contracted to observe the beast and form a strategy.”

“Why five regular knights? Contracted?” Irika interrupted.

Ariel found herself not minding the genuinely interested interruption at all. She decided to answer the more complicated question first. “The Mercenary State Knighthood operates on contracts. Even the General King himself signs an official contract whenever he gives a domestic mission to his knights.”

Irika looked perplexed. “Why? Isn't he a king? Can't he just order them?”

Ariel smiled proudly. “Ever since Sir Guivvallon overthrew the vicious despot King Branum and formed our State around two hundred years ago, he wanted equality for everyone in our land, leadership included. He wrote the contract-based laws that our nation still uphold. Of course, in practice, military hierarchy still stands. But it can be freely brought under scrutiny by anyone, if a breach of contract is suspected. For example, if the General King or one of his lieutenants is forcing a knight to do something that will unquestionably cost him his life.”

Ariel wracked her brain for a while. She knew the State's law by heart, as was expected of a State knight, but had had a hard time focusing on the history of the actual court of law in her country. Studying was not her strong suit. “I believe the Council of the State would in this case convene and decide on the discharging of the official in question, even if it's the General King himself. Then, the next in line would assume his position.”

“That sounds really odd.” Irika still looked somewhat confused. Ariel didn't blame her, since the State law was so far removed from that of other monarchies, from what she'd heard.

“The contracts' main job is to prevent the abuse of power, and ensure recompense for the knights or their families in the case of injuries or fatalities. Every contract is audited by someone from a small council of scribes hired from our surrounding nations, to preserve impartiality,” Ariel recounted. The State law had been drilled into the Knighthood's brains so passionately that even the most scatterbrained Mercenary Knights would remember it wherever they went. “This also assures our neighboring countries that we in fact don't have any plans to launch an invasion against them, since they literally have an insider within our ranks sifting through our contracts.”

“Now THAT is weird,” Irika exclaimed, now sounding more incredulous than confused.

Ariel laughed. “Hey, it works! Cuan, our neighbor to the north, has even started adopting some of our ways. But we've digressed quite a bit from the main story.” She paused for a second to regain her train of thought. “Right, the regular knights that were contracted to hunt the gryphon with us. They were included for the more menial work, such as interviewing the farmers in the area and bartering for materials for our plans. As soon as they had gathered their share of information, they reported to the ten of us and left with our recommendations. Meanwhile we were surveying the surrounding area, tracking the beast and looking for good spots in which to lay traps.”

Irika looked surprised at the mention of traps. “I didn't know knights used traps! What kind of traps did you use? What kind of traps _can_ you even use on _gryphons,_ don't they fly?”

Ariel smiled at the barrage of questions. “Traps aren't usually considered very honorable or noble, are they?” she asked. Irika nodded fervently.

Ariel glanced away and tapped her chin lightly. “Well, Mercenary State knights have a slightly different view on honor to begin with, I think. But the truth of the matter is, taking on such a huge beast head-on would just mean ten dead Landsknecht. When a beast can fly and has talons the size of your hand and equal to your numbers, you need strategy.” Ariel mimed along an imaginary shape on the ground in front of them as they walked. “We dug pitfalls. Sounds simple, right? But they're very efficient against heavy enemies. Making it lose balance even for a moment can make the difference between its death and ours.”

Irika gazed at the imaginary pitfall in front of them and nodded again.

“We also hung tripwires between trees, hoping to tangle its wings. Our plan was to lure it down to a specific spot that we had trapped, and take it down after it was helpless,” Ariel explained. “Up until that point everything went just as planned. The gryphon landed right where we wanted it to, and stumbled when its foot hit a pitfall. That's when we rushed it from our hiding places.” She sighed wearily at the past blunder. “Our tripwires failed. The gryphon's wings were much more powerful than we had anticipated. It snapped some ropes and severed some branches they were tied to. It flailed around flapping its wings and the ropes and the branches, sowing confusion amidst us. Sir Coran got hit by a wing and flung right into a tree.”

Irika had covered her mouth with her hands and stared at Ariel, her catlike gray eyes as wide as they went.

“By this time we had already managed to perforate the damn beast's underside and legs with bleeding holes, but it was still putting up a huge damn struggle,” Ariel continued, getting annoyed at the long-since dead beast in spite of herself. “It tried to take flight, but I slashed off one of its wings since I had the largest weapon in the group. It fell right back down, and crushed Sir Erwil under its rear leg. It got _really_ mad at me for cutting its wing.”

Ariel chuckled, but a painful stab in her left shoulder made her cringe in pain and cover it with her right hand. Maybe she wasn't as over this memory as she thought she'd been after all. “ _Not like the past can hurt me, anyway,”_ she thought as Irika shot a worried look at her left side. Ariel decided to soldier on with the story. “I tried to dodge but it was way faster than I thought it'd be in such a sorry shape. It stomped on me. Thankfully the armor I was wearing held its weight or I would've been crushed to death. It snapped down with its beak and ripped off my arm like a piece of  worm, right out of the shoulder.”

Irika let out a short scream, which made Ariel flinch a little too. The sorceress was getting into her story just as if she'd been there herself. This made Ariel grin, even despite just having relived her most physically painful memory.

“It wasn't all for naught though,” she continued, smiling at Irika's reaction. “The gryphon had to bring its head down way too low for its own good when it snapped at me. I stuck my sword in its eye, and a moment later Sir Tolmann pierced its skull with his halberd. Which finally made it as dead as it deserved to be.”

Ariel's amusement grew as Irika was still breathing heavily at the story's finale. Beads of sweat were falling down her forehead, and her hands were still covering her mouth. _“What a great audience, good grief!”_ she thought to herself and suppressed a giggle.

“Wh- what happened to all the knights? What happened to _you_?” Irika asked, finally uncovering her mouth and gulping heavily.

“Everyone _was_ indeed alive like the story said, but some of us were not in a good state.” Ariel had to look away from Irika's excitable face for a moment. “Most of us had at least some wounds in need of treatment. Sir Baird lost a couple of fingers, but he was still fit enough to resume his work as Landsknecht. The three of us who got hurt the worst were given an honorable discharge from active duty in the Landsknecht of the State.”

Irika gasped lightly. Ariel smiled at her sadly.

“Sir Erwil broke his spine and lost the function in his legs. He never was one to wallow in despair though, he's now working as a clerk in his brother's store. He's still quite merry, and even found himself a wife! He told me he'd never have met her if not for the accident," Ariel tried to sound chipper, but failed. Despite her memory of the happily grinning man sitting in a wheelchair, her heart sunk slightly as she thought about her former comrades. “Sir Coran went permanently stupid and was put in the care of his wife and a doctor, provided free of charge by the State military. Last I heard he was getting a bit better though, he apparently remembers his own name and the name of his wife again.”

Irika was now trembling slightly. Ariel put her arm around her. “And Sir Ariel was treated at the State military hospital by some great doctors and healers, but sadly her arm was swallowed whole by the gryphon and was not discovered in a recoverable state.” She finished her story with a light squeeze of Irika's shoulder and withdrew back to her previous walking spot.

They spent some time walking in silence. Ariel hadn't been revisiting those events for a while, and noticed that thinking about them didn't make her heart twinge quite as much anymore. Having been discharged from the Knighthood had struck her worse than losing her arm. Especially the look on the General King's eyes had remained with her, as the three valiant knights had been hailed and relieved of their duties in celebration, by the entire contingent of Landsknecht present in the State at that time.

The General King's look had screamed 'useless'.

“I noticed...” a careful voice piped up from her right side. “I noticed that you're not wearing a crest. I'm guessing that's why?”

Once again Ariel couldn't help being slightly astonished by the casual observational skills of this young woman she had deemed a dumb vagrant before. She had got to stop underestimating her at some point. “That's right. The crest is only borne by knights in active duty. I was relieved, but being _mostly operational_...” she smirked at her own jab. “I still managed to contract a mission for myself.” She pondered for a moment. It only now struck her that her own mission bore a striking sense of similarity to the one Irika had told her she was on. “You told me before that whoever sent you on your quest wanted you dead or gone. Well, my current contract is much the same, except I'm pretty sure nobody wants me actively dead. Just out of their sight.”

Irika turned to face Ariel so fast she cricked her neck. “Why would anyone want you gone, you're so strong!” she exclaimed, now rubbing the base of her skull.

Ariel smiled at the compliment. “The State is a bit weird in that way. Especially the highest order. If I were a regular knight I might have been able to continue with my crest but... As a Landsknecht, only the best of the best will do.” She felt the familiar sting of bitterness as she saw the General King's eyes in her mind. “Nobody wants to contract a one-armed merc, and to the leadership, the contract is everything.”

Irika's brow scrunched and mouth opened in outrage.

“I know kid, I know.” Ariel cringed at her own returned use of the diminutive. “I was the most adamant person to try to prove them wrong. It took me about half a year to recover, and all of the next year I did nothing but ask, plead, even grovel for a chance to prove myself even with just three working limbs. Looking back, that was definitely my biggest mistake. Landsknecht are supposed to be paragons of skill, bravery and pride. My behavior was certainly unprideful, on top of having only half the arms of the other knights.” She smiled despite the bitterness slowly seeping into her bones. “So I got sent on a mission that's hardly more than an errand boy's journey. I am to present myself to the King of Stenning at Erwayn, and provide my services to him. No doubt the General King has already sent word ahead, asking the King to humor me and give me some oddjobs to preserve my pride as a knight."

Ariel sighed deep. “Honestly, I'm not sure I even want to do any of this anymore. But I've known nothing but physical work for my entire life, and in the eyes of others I only have less than half the capability for it. I'm at a bit of a loss.” She felt strangely vulnerable, talking about her insecurities to someone who was still relatively a stranger. She hadn't intended to go this far into baring her soul, but something in the young sorceress' intently listening face just made her spill her guts. It felt scary, but also relieving. Somehow Ariel didn't think Irika would go around parading her knowledge of the ex-Landsknecht and her weaknesses to everyone she saw. She barely knew her, but Ariel could tell that this was a person who knew and could relate to hardship and loss.

Irika was still throwing occasional sideways glances at Ariel, but wasn't saying anything. Whether out of consideration or anxiety, she couldn't tell. Ariel had been on the fence about her future plans, and telling Irika about them had thrown them into even starker contrast than before. Did she want to end her career as a knight like this? Surely there was something she could still do, other than being an honorary errand runner for a king who was not her own.

“ _Well whatever happens from now on, at least there's something I can do right here and right now,”_ she thought, and glanced at the young, scrawny sorceress walking by her side. Whatever trouble Irika had wrought back in her home city, at least Ariel could try to help her with it.

“ _Because it's the knightly thing to do.”_

Ariel wasn't quite able to fully convince herself that knight's honor was the only reason why Irika and her plight interested her.

 

 

_Guidance_

 

Irika was floating amidst daydreams of knights and gryphons, dangerous missions and lost honor, just barely paying attention to her feet as the pair made their way through the hillside. She had hardly broken her reverie when Ariel had prodded her with another ration bar, and was now munching on the bitter piece of protein and thinking about how she would fight a gryphon.

“ _I wonder if I would've been able to help at all. My magic isn't very strong... then again, the thing at the bonfire happened. What if the bonfire had been a gryphon instead?” S_ he imagined herself calling thunder from the skies at a gryphon and turning it into a huge, turkey-like roast.

“Why didn't you use magic against the gryphon?” She had asked another question half-consciously, but this one at least wasn't awkwardly personal.

Ariel seemed to snap out of her own thoughts as she glanced at Irika. “The General King didn't think we would need magic. And honestly, us 'elite knights' didn't think we would have to either. It was just a 'big dumb bird' after all. Pride cost us, hard.”

“Didn't you say that most Landsknecht know how to use magic, though?” Irika asked, blushing a little as she remembered that Ariel had professed herself to be completely unable to use any magic.

Ariel grinned at her as if she could read her thoughts. “ _Most_ , eh? I think you _do_ remember that I'm only one of two exceptions in the current force!” She laughed melodiously, not a shred of indignation in her voice. “Right you are though, everyone else in our group could use magic. Sir Coran was the best of us, but he got brought down first. Three others in our midst were proficient enough in offensive magic, but found stabbing much more effective.” Ariel stabbed an imaginary sword upwards for demonstration. “Sir Tolmann tried to sear the beast's feathers with flame, but they seemed to repel fire. I bet he stopped trying because he didn't want to risk setting fire to the brush around us instead.”

Irika imagined her poorly aimed thunderbolt hitting her hypothetical allies instead. She shuddered.

“Magic is accepted in Capital City, but the general public outside it still shuns open demonstrations. Setting fire to a farmer's crops with a fireball would not have made us very popular in the periphery," the knight continued. “In the end, by and far the most efficient way of dealing with the beast was with blades. When Sir Tolmann saw me cleave its wing off, he abandoned magic altogether and just started stabbing at it with his weapon instead. If only they'd been a bit faster at realizing it, and maybe... you know.” She gestured at her left arm. “What's passed is past, though.”

They fell back into their own thoughts. As far as she could remember, Irika had always had her magic, but it had never been useful for anything. She had always feared her own powers a little, because getting branded a deviant sorcerer was the fastest way to get shunned and ostracized by everyone around you, at least in the less fortunate parts of society. Not to even mention accidentally hurting the ones you love. Irika's thoughts returned to her home and her mother. Once more the great sense of urgency and haste overtook her, and yet again she tried to quell it down with reason. They were already walking as fast as Irika was comfortable doing without exhausting herself in the long term. Ariel surely could travel faster, but Irika felt like she'd need her help one way or another when they reached Brunn.

Ariel had talked about contracts, though. If Irika asked for her help, would it be considered a contract under the promise of payment? She had nothing, surely she wouldn't be able to afford the mercenary knight's services. Could she possibly hire her for a promise of payment in the future? Irika was fairly certain that contracts didn't work that way.

She bit her lip as she thought about her situation. She could tell Ariel everything about her mother's kidnapping, but in the end it had been her mother who committed the first crime. Did Ariel's pride as a knight extend to apprehending her mother for her crimes as well? If so, she would definitely spend the rest of her life in prison for theft... and her life, Irika remembered with a rending squeeze of her heart, barring a miraculous improvement in living conditions, was nearing its end. She would almost certainly die soon if she were jailed.

The sun was slowly creeping towards the cloudy horizon as they reached the shallows of a river that marked the last leg of their journey to Brunn. Irika clutched onto Ariel's strong, steady arm for support as they crossed the uneven rocks leading them across the stream. Turning southward, after a long series of uphills, they would soon reach the plateau where the Brunn mountain range and its troublesome landslides would be visible.

“ _Hurry,”_ Irika heard a vaguely feminine voice call out to her.

“What?” She turned to Ariel. It didn't sound like her husky voice, but...

“What? I didn't say anything.”

“You told me to hurry. Didn't you?”

“Not me.” Ariel looked around in confusion as if trying to find another person talking to them. “Are you alright? We still have time, we should be able make it to Brunn before it's pitch dark.” She patted Irika on the head bracingly.

“ _Hurry.”_

Irika heard the voice again, and it made her feel slightly sick. It definitely wasn't Ariel, and it definitely didn't come from the outside of her head. A feeling of dread rose up from her stomach and into her throat as they kept walking uphill towards the plateau.

Irika picked up her pace. “I think we need to go. Something's wrong.”

“What? What's wrong?” Ariel looked dumbfounded, but followed suit.

Irika sped up her walking until she was running. The Brunn mountain range came into view. The top of the plateau gave a magnificent vista of the entire mountain range stretching across the horizon in the south. The city of Brunn was obscured by a small outcropping of the mountain range, but the vast farmland reaching outward from the city was still visible in the half-light.

Irika let out her bated breath a little, but the dread in her stomach didn't let up. “We should go. I don't know why but I think something's wrong with Brunn.”

“What makes you think that?” Ariel sounded doubtful but serious.

“Something... Something or someone told me to hurry.”

“Something? Do you think it has to do with your magic?”

“I- Yeah, that must be it. I think. But we need to go.” Irika's explanation sounded like lunacy even to her own ears. She looked at Ariel pleadingly.

The knight nodded. “Then let's go.”

Irika had no idea what was happening to her, or why she was feeling this way, but she was glad that Ariel wasn't shutting her down. Instead of heading south towards the main road, Irika started straight across the rough moor towards Brunn.

“Hold on. Here.” She felt something poking at her shoulder. It was Ariel handing her another food bar. “If something really is happening, this'll be the time to eat. Trust me. And watch your step, the ground's uneven. This way is faster but if you twist your leg it'll be all for naught.”

Irika nodded, grabbed the offering and started hastily chomping it down, while paying slightly more attention to her feet. She felt thankful that Ariel was here, even if she wouldn't be able to help with her troubles in the city in the end. As they reached the foresty knoll, the city of Brunn finally came into sight. The vast city was easily visible in the half-light, spreading across the width of the distance between the farmlands and the mountainside. Thousands of lamplights flickered against the silhouette of the mountains, with larger signal fires marking the partial guardwalls. The city seemed just as it had been when Irika had left it several days ago.

Irika looked around, desperately trying to find justification for her hurry. What had the voice been talking about? What was the feeling in her stomach? “Am I going insane?” The last thought escaped Irika's lips.

Ariel tapped Irika's shoulder hard. “Look.” She pointed out across the farmland, to the edge of the forest a few miles north from the city.

Irika looked. A spattering of very dim lights flickered at the forest's edge, then went out. She saw nothing else. “What? What was that?”

“Orcs. A lot of them. We need to go.” Now Ariel's voice was tense with urgency. She looked around for a moment, then started dashing madly downhill, towards the forest in the distance.

“B- But they, what do they want?” Irika shouted at her between gasps of air. She was running as hard as her legs would, and could still only barely keep up with the fully geared knight.

“Raiding. I've seen this before,” Ariel shouted back. “A group that large could only have one target, Brunn. HEY!” Her last shout wasn't targeted at Irika.

“Why are we... not going to... Brunn then!?” she yelled, legs burning from the exertion. She was glad she had been able to eat properly the past day, owing to Ariel's odd food bars.

“Hey you! We need your horse!” Ariel was ignoring Irika's question and shouting at someone else. She slowed down and Irika managed to catch up with her, clutching a stitch in her side.

“Official knight business! Lend us your horse!” Ariel's bark was a command, and the farmhand she'd been shouting at looked terrified.

“Take it, I want no trouble,” he said and backed off with his hands held in front of his chest. Ariel unsheathed her broadsword, and cut the bandings attaching the caramel-colored horse to the carriage full of wheat it had been pulling in one smooth motion. The horse neighed and shook its black mane indignantly.

“Get on,” she said, pulling the horse around and extending her hand to Irika. She pulled her up in front of her and whipped the reins hard. “HYAH!” The horse gave another upset neigh and a shake of its head, but started galloping along the narrow path towards the main road.

Ariel handed Irika the reins. Irika was petrified. “I- I don't know how to- to-”

“Just keep em taut in the direction you want it to go and pull hard if you wanna stop, but not too hard, it'll fling us off!” Irika could feel Ariel shuffling around behind her, cursing and grasping for something in her various packs. “Where the hell did I put it? Aha!”

The horse reached the main road in no time. Irika pulled hard and got the horse to turn, but it also stopped. “Whip it!” Ariel barked, and Irika did. Whipping the reins caused another angry neigh, and the horse started trotting towards the city extending in front of them.

“Take us close to the guardwall on the north side, I'm gonna blow my horn to wake the damn guards. I bet they're sleeping on the job, the northern part of the town will be helpless.”

Ariel sounded harried, but Irika swore she could also hear a hint of excitement in her voice. It took a while for her brain to properly register what Ariel just said.

“They're gonna attack the north?” Irika shouted back at Ariel.

“Where else? That's where they'll hit first the way they're coming from.”

“But my mother... they can't hit the north part of the city! That's where the slums are, there's nothing valuable there!” Irika felt the panic truly rise into her head.

“They're not looking for valuables, they're looking for slaughter and slaves. They'll ambush the city, raze the slums and get out before the guard has time to act. Your mother is there?”

Irika could hardly hear the worry in Ariel's last statement. Her head was buzzing with fear, panic and incredulity. She had somehow miraculously managed to deal with the dragon and had hundreds of gold worth of proof with her; she could pay the thugs and get her mother out. Then they could take whatever money was left and go live in peace in some other town.

She would be able to afford a better place and better food for her mother, and her health would improve. She had so much left to teach Irika after all. They could go shopping together without having to sneak around in the alleyways avoiding dodgy-looking merchants and violent thugs. They would no longer have to risk getting mugged or accosted while merely going out to the watering hole.

Why would a bunch of orcs want to bother with her mother and the other people in the low class part of town? She still didn't get it. Slaughter? Slavery? What was the point of that? The lives of the people in the slums and the surrounding areas were barely above slavery anyway.

She felt an abrupt stab of white hot anger. Anger at the damn orcs, anger at the thugs in Brunn, anger at the sneering questing hall clerk, at the town guard, even at her mother, and especially at herself. If only she wasn't such a weakling and a liability with her deviant magic powers. Maybe she was the cause of all this in the first place! Her mother could've lived in peace just fine if she had never found her.

 

“ _Go.”_

 

Her anger was pierced by a crystal clear sound that echoed in her mind for what felt like an eternity. It sounded familiar. Like an old friend, or maybe a parent? Within it was a hint of her own mother, a hint of a kind, smiling priestess, something resembling a noble, amicable queen... she could even recognize a touch of Ariel's voice from the single word that still resonated inside her mind. She didn't feel the need to question it this time.

“I have to go.” She barely registered her own words, and could not make out whatever Ariel said in response to her. Irika's vision flickered blue, and she felt her body rise up off their steed.


	7. The Raid and the Ransom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Going into a raid with only a tank and a dps is just asking for a wipe.

 

_The First Storm_

 

Ariel swore loudly, as the horse she and Irika had been riding on reared in shock. She was clutching her legs around the panicking animal and hanging on to its bridle so strongly that its head was turned her way, eyes popping from fright. She had lost the reins as her sorceress companion had levitated up into the air, shimmering with pale blue light.

“Whoa! _Whoa buddy,_ easy there!” she crooned, trying her best to calm down the bucking steed. The disappearance of the strange, bright flickering thing on its back seemed to calm the horse down enough to settle back onto four legs, still throwing its head and snorting in apprehension. Ariel looked up at the sky towards Brunn.

“Irika!” she breathed as she saw the young sorceress enveloped in a blue bubble, electricity flashing within as she raced through the sky and towards the northern fields of Brunn. Ariel fumbled for the reins and whipped the horse into motion. She had to reach the guard walls before Irika reached the orcs. She saw the signal fire on the nearest guard post flicker as a silhouette of a guard ran past it, undoubtedly to get a better look of the odd blue light flying past the city proper. She tugged the horse back into a canter, grabbed the leather cord around her neck, swiveled the horn into her mouth and blew hard. The silhouette of the guardsman up on the tower shifted as he heard the signal horn sounding on the ground.

“ORCS IN THE NORTH!” Ariel yelled as loud as her lungs would allow.

After just a moment of silence, another, louder signal horn blew from atop, two short notes and a long one. It was soon echoed from other guardwalls further up and behind the city.

Ariel turned her steed towards the outer part of town where Irika had flown. She scouted the skies just above the periphery of the city, and finally found the blue bubble, floating stationary above a small field, not far from one of the guard walls. She urged the horse into a gallop.

“Come on, come on, you can do it, buddy,” she muttered to the animal, her heart aching a little from pushing it so hard. She rode past small houses, across back yards and through vegetable fields, as lamplights popped up in windows around her. “Get back inside! Orcs!” she yelled in passing to a farmer and his wife who had come out onto their porch to wonder about the noises in the night.

The floating blue sphere encasing Irika was now clear in sight, a few hundred yards in front of her. She pulled the horse to a halt, dropped off it, and slapped its rear to make it trot into safety. “Thank you, friend,” she couldn't help but say.

She gazed up at the sorceress floating in the sky, but as soon as she did, she also saw the orcs. They had made quick pace at the city atop their riding boars, giant stags, and various other bestial mounts that the pig-faced savages felt comfortable taming. A horn sounded on the advancing horde's side as the orcs urged their mounts for assault. Ariel pulled her greatsword off her back, and tried to count numbers.

“Too many to count in twilight. Fucking great,” she muttered to herself. “ _At least Irika's light will signal the guards where to come. I just hope they come fast enough,”_ she thought and braced herself for combat.

Ariel ducked behind a house on the edge of the field and settled in to wait for the horde to reach her. Rushing in would only get her stampeded to death, but at least she could try to protect some of the vegetable farmers, vagrants and other people of the lower classes who inhabited this sector of the city. She peeked around the corner and saw that the orcish raiders had reached the small ridge above which Irika was floating. They gave her and her sparking bubble of lightning a wide berth but didn't seem hesitant to rush around her, sounding their horns and blasting out warcries.

As soon as the first raider had passed Irika, a thick tendril of electricity issued from the shimmering bubble around her, and struck the raider dead with an ear-piercing thunderclap. This repeated several dozen times; for every orc who made it past her, a bolt of lightning struck with unerring accuracy and a deafening roar. The horde's advance screeched to a halt.

Irika's mysterious protective bubble of storm seemed to be dimming, and she was slowly descending towards the ground. Ariel dashed from behind her hiding place and made directly for her. The orcs had now stopped entirely, their line billowing uncertainly some twenty yards away from Irika. Errant arrows and bolts flew from their lines, only to be struck down by small flashes of lightning from Irika's bubble. She was still losing height and incandescence, and Ariel was still several seconds away. A crescendo of horns sounded behind her.

The Brunn city guard was flowing out from around the guard walls. At least two to three hundred men were rushing out of the city and towards the orc raiders, blowing into assault horns and carrying banners with the crest of Brunn on them. Ariel's heart lifted, but she still had to reach Irika in time before she hit the ground. To her great shock, she saw a few tendrils from Irika's protective bubble scorch arrows on the _Brunn side_ of the fight.

“DON'T SHOOT AT HER!” Ariel bellowed back with a violent stab of anger. She was almost at Irika.

Irika's feet hit the ground, and her bubble flickered away almost simultaneously as the Brunn guard rushed in, in a large wave from behind her. They seemed to be giving her the same berth as the orcs had, but a small group on the orc's side had now rushed towards her. Ariel forced her legs to move as fast as humanly possible as she readied her sword. An orc jumped towards Irika, its battle axe ready to strike. She wouldn't make it in time.

Irika's right hand lifted in the air weakly, and a small bolt of lightning issued from it, hitting the orc squarely in the face. The orc toppled out of the air, squealing in pain and dropping its axe behind it. The other orcs were not slowing down, but Ariel was already upon them. She swept her greatsword in the air in a practiced motion, cutting one of the attacking orcs in half and carving the other one through until its spine. She tugged her sword out of the orc violently and stabbed it into the face of the one squealing on the ground.

Airl turned to Irika. Her eyes were open but glazed, as she was down on one knee, panting and delirious.

“Are you alright?! Talk to me!” Ariel shouted, the panic in her voice unfamiliar to herself, and all but drowned out by the sounds of battle now sounding all around them. Irika lifted her head very slowly and nodded. Ariel felt a breath of relief rush through her body, and then the presence of an attacker on her. She unhanded her greatsword and pounced away from it, as an axeblade fell where her head had just been. She swiftly unsheathed the broadsword on her hip, twisted around, expertly sliced the orc's throat open and kicked its corpse away from her sword before it even realized it was dead.

Both the soldiers of Brunn and the orcs had now seen that the mysterious and frightening magic was completely gone, and started to slowly overrun the previously vacant area around Irika. They would have to move.

Ariel turned back to the sorceress. A small orc had snuck by unnoticed and was stabbing her with its sword.

Ariel's heart stopped. Irika fell to the ground limply.

“IRIKA!!” Ariel roared. She rushed towards the orc assailant, stabbed her broadsword straight through its back, and flung it head-first into the ground over her shoulder. The orc's skull crumbled under the beastman's own weight with a sickening crunch, and it lay still.

“Ugh... don't worry, it didn't... hit anything important... I think,” Irika muttered from the ground, breathing shallow with a painful expression on her face. A red stain was forming in her tunic under her palm.

“It hit _you!_ ” Ariel said, the uncharacteristic panic now dominant in her mind. Her fingers stumbled at the clasp of her hip pouch. “Ah SHIT!”

Ariel grabbed her shoulder cape and violently ripped it off its fastenings. “Here, hold this on the wound and press... It's gonna hurt. I'll get you out of here,” she said, pressing the cape on top of Irika's trembling hand.

“It-It's fine,” Irika replied with a wavering voice, and drew a long, stabilizing breath. “You gotta get out of here, I'd just slow- slow you down.” She coughed.

Ariel didn't see any blood come up, a good sign. “Don't talk. Can you stand?” she said, having a hard time splitting her attention between Irika and watching out for more enemies. The Brunn militia seemed to have completely overtaken the area, and were pushing back the orc raiders, who seemed to be turning to retreat. The battle was seemingly won, but Ariel's mind was far away from victory.

“I- don't think so. Please, take the d-dragon horns. Take them to the questing hall. Tell them to release... to release Anabel.” Irika's voice was weak and her eyes were wandering.

“Absolutely not, you're going to bring them yourself, and that's _FINAL!”_ The last word left Ariel's mouth as a shouted command, as she grasped at Irika and tried to figure out the best way to lift her with just one arm. A shoulder carry would not do for someone with a sword wound in their side.

“FUCK! Can I get some help here?!” Ariel yelled with the most authority a seasoned commander could muster.

One of the Brunn guardsmen stopped and approached her. “Wounded civilian? Let me help.” He crouched down next to them.

“Stabbed in the side. Probably not critical. Losing blood though, we must move fast.” Ariel was talking fast and hoping the guard would be experienced enough to catch on quickly.

“Roger. I'll take the-” the guard noticed Ariel's missing arm and blanched slightly.

“Not recent, focus.” She snapped her fingers in front of the guard's face, picked up her broadsword from the ground and sheathed it.

“Take the wounded side and keep applying pressure, I'll take the other side,” Ariel said, letting the guard take Irika's weight off her, while she turned to retrieve her greatsword. Meanwhile, the guardsman had propped Irika into a sitting position. Ariel bowed her head under the sorceress' arm and grabbed her hand. The guard nodded and took Irika's other side, pressing Ariel's cape on the bleeding wound. Irika winced slightly.

Ariel felt a short pang of relief at her reacting to the pain. “She's still responsive. Where's the nearest hospital?”

“East Centre Square. We have some ways to walk yet,” the guard replied as they hoisted Irika's woefully light body upright. Ariel had to stoop awkwardly and found herself cursing her height for the first time in her life.

“Let's go, they seem to have everything under control here,” Ariel said and glared at the guard with all of her battle-repressed shock, sadness and fury.

“I will have your head if she dies.”

The guard gulped as they started limping towards the city.

 

 

_Deviant_

 

Lights danced in Irika's eyes as her consciousness swam near the shores of wakefulness. Her head felt like it had split in two and there was a piercing pain in her side. A somewhat familiar kind of pain, she found herself wondering. A twinge of a hazy past seared through the skin of her back and stomach, but focused again on the current, very real pain under her ribcage.

“What...” she groaned, opening her eyes to a dimly lit blurriness. She could make out light coming out of a small hatch of some sort to her left. She was lying on her back on something soft. She closed her eyes again. Her thoughts were a mess because of her horribly throbbing head, and she couldn't even begin to remember why she was like this. Amongst the deluge of flashes and memories, a face floated into the forefront of her mind.

“Ariel...” she heard herself mutter. Amidst the maelstrom of her memories, she felt like she was riding on something, with a warm, soft feeling on her back, but a pain in her heart.

Something... someone had spoken to her. The familiar, clear echo sounded again in her mind, but the words themselves were muddled, as if someone were purposefully trying to say things that didn't make sense. Then, she felt like she was flying, completely free and unbridled, a long-lost world of possibility spreading out in front of her. But the pain in her heart was still there, and it had something to do with where she was lying now. She couldn't fly away yet, there was something she needed to do here.

Anger flashed in her mind like a talon slashing through its victim, as something was trying to hinder her flight, destroy her nest, ravage her roost. She lashed out at the attacker, drove her fury into it like a raging storm. But it wasn't enough. Her roost would be demolished, her past and her future gone in fire. The pain in her heart was unbearable. Ariel's worried face came into the window of her memory once more, this time slightly blurred and unfocused, as if moving rapidly. She was talking. Irika was talking too, but the words sounded like a garbled mess. The pain in her heart was about to burst.

She felt like she was riding on... on a horse again, but not like before... She couldn't see Ariel's face, but could feel her warmth, feel her strength. She felt safe, but the pain in her heart ruptured, and then she was dead.

 

* * *

 

“Up.”

Irika heard a gruff voice through the darkness, and shuddered in surprise. Then, she felt a burning stab of pain in her left side. She clutched it in agony as a hand grabbed her arm roughly. Someone was pulling her up.

“I said _up._ You've enjoyed our hospitality long enough, deviant.”

The voice sounded as unfriendly as the tight grip on her arm was. Irika's feet felt wobbly, but she was able to remain standing somehow, as the stranger started pulling her along. The pain in her side forced her vision into focus. Before she could take in the room she'd been lying in, the stranger had already pulled her out the door. They were now walking through a wide brick hallway with doors on either side, and various pieces of strange equipment and weapons lying around tables next to the doors.

The stranger himself was wearing a blue uniform that Irika recognized as the Brunn city tabard on top of a guard outfit. His brown hair was cropped short like a guard's, and he had a sword on his belt. He was pulling Irika towards the large door on the opposite end of the hallway.

“What... I... What...” Irika once again found herself not understanding anything that was happening. Her head hurt, her side hurt, her arm hurt, and she felt sick. And where was Ariel? Was she alright? What of her mother?

“Silence. We will deal with you now,” the guardsman spat and tugged at Irika's arm painfully. He pushed open the doors at the end of the hallway, and pulled Irika into a large hall supported by slim stone pillars.

“Sit down,” he said, pushing Irika onto a chair in front of a large desk. He rounded the desk and sat down behind it, laying his arms on top of it.

“ _Where is she!?_ I swear by all that's holy and good, if she's dead I will...” Irika heard Ariel's angry but familiar voice issuing from another hallway to her right. The knight and another guardsman bust through the door. Their eyes met, and hope overtook her like a wave, until the pain in her side brought her back to reality.

Ariel's face was awash with relief as she let out a long sigh and let her head droop onto her chest. "Oh thank the Gods,” she said weakly as she was shoved onto the chair next to Irika's. She glared over at the affronting guard, then reached over and patter Irika's arm. “You okay, kiddo?”

Irika didn't even have the time to nod, as the brash guard on the other side of the table spoke to them. “You ride to town on a stolen horse, with an orcish warband in tow and harboring a deviant.” He was addressing Ariel directly. “What is your explanation for this?” he asked, templing his fingers in front of his face and staring at Ariel from behind his brow.

“The horse was a necessity, the warband's appearance had nothing to do with us, and she is _not_ a deviant,” Ariel said, her voice strong and clear and oozing authority. “Without her and her magic, your city would be burning and hundreds would be dead.”

“So you say. Our guards' testimonies tell of an orb of strange magic appearing in the northern sky, casting lightning onto the ground, and then an army of orcs appearing from beyond.” The guardsman leaned forward and turned to look at Irika. Irika shivered as his cold, hateful gaze pierced her soul. “Did this deviant not summon the orcs with her foul magic? Twenty of our guard are dead. She will be held accountable.”

“Why would she summon them to attack the slums of all places? Besides, I was the one who alerted your guard to the orcs' presence. I am a knight of the Mercenary State, and she is with me.” Ariel wasn't shouting, but her commanding voice thundered over the guardsman's own. Irika could tell that he was getting more irate by the minute at the thought of someone trying to outclass his authority.

All of a sudden his scowl turned into a smirk. “Ah, a knight of the State indeed.” The guardsman pulled something out of his pocket. Next to Irika, Ariel let out a barely audible growl. “The esteemed Crest of Guivvallon.” The guardsman was speaking slowly, his voice smooth and oily, as if he were enjoying the situation. He was holding up a silvery crest of three swords crossed on top of an anvil. A black ribbon was attached to the crest and tied to a small rosette. “An exiled knight. I'm afraid your authority doesn't extend to this command.”

“ _Honorably discharged_ , not exiled,” Ariel growled. “And the authority of the Landsknecht does not indeed extend to this land, but _does_ however hold a significant amount of sway to the ears of the General King – who you may know is a good personal friend of King Stenning's.”

The guardsman scoffed. “You expect me to believe that a _crippled woman_ is a _Landsknecht_?” A few of the other guardsmen standing in the room snickered as well.”

“Believe what you want, but the truth will be uncovered eventually, and _you_ will be held personally responsible,” Ariel said and pointed her finger at the guardsman menacingly.

For the first time over the course of the interrogation, the guardsman looked uncomfortable. He unconsciously stroked his beard as he mused over Ariel's words. “Very well. We do not have the authority to hold knights from other nations in our command.” He waved his hand to another guard behind him. “Your equipment will be brought here. The _girl,_ however...” He turned his glowering eyes back to Irika.

“Is with me,” Ariel interjected. “You will release me, and I will take her with me.”

“I think not. I happen to know,” the guardsman said, his voice suddenly smooth and oily again, “that this girl is in fact a citizen of the slums herself. She is what we call a ' _known deviant_ '.” The guardsman smirked wickedly at Irika. “The girl's mother has been donating to our command well over the years, to let us let her try to keep the girl's _deviance_ under control.”

Irika's stomach felt hollow. Her mother was bribing the guards? For _her?_

The guardsman behind the desk spat on the floor. “It disgusted me to no end that we were allowing a _sorcerer_ to run rampant in the lower class district. As if it weren't enough that we have to cater to the whims of _wizards_ from the college as if we were their personal errand boys.” He spat again. His brow twitched with every mention of magic users, venom dripping out of his words.

“But,” his voice lifted as if making some kind of a grand declaration. “The old woman did pay us well, for a lower class citizen anyway. We tailed you and her for a while, of course, for we were expecting you to be stealing money for a living.” The guardsman smiled a disgustingly fake, sweet smile. “But alas, you were merely working your hands raw, trying to make ends meet. We let you be as long as your mother could afford her dues. We are not criminals, after all.” His smile widened even further.

Ariel stood up and slammed her fist onto the guardsman's table so furiously that the tabletop cracked in two.

“You disgust me.” Pure wrath and ferocity coated her words like a flurry of blades, ready to slice open the man in front of her. “I should have all of your heads right now.”

The guardsman flinched away from his table as Ariel towered over him. “I- I will remind you that this is a constabulary, and that any threats made here will be held against you!” His voice was higher pitched than normal, and audibly shaking.

“Where is my mother?” Irika asked. Ariel turned around, her expression inscrutable.

“Funny you should ask.” The guardsman managed to regain some of his composure. “Leeds?”

One of the lower ranking guardsmen who had entered the room earlier stepped closer. “Yes, sire?”

“Where is the esteemed Lady Anabel of the lower North District? The old woman who was brought here four days ago under charges of larceny.”

Irika gasped. Her head was still hazy about what had happened within the previous day or two, but she couldn't have left Brunn more than five days ago at the most. Had the thugs given her up as soon as she had left?

“The old thief? She died in her cell two nights ago, I was just going through her possessions earlier.”

Ariel gasped.

The inside of Irika's head went white.


	8. The Flight and the Fever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Equus ex machina!
> 
> Sadness, but also hope.

 

_Providence_

 

Ariel’s blistering fury had frozen and formed a sharp, jutting icicle inside her stomach. Everything she had learned about Irika and her family in the past day was boiling over inside her head, mixed in with all the pity and worry she’d had for the sorceress' unvoiced plight during their journey. Irika’s rush for Brunn, her quest involving the dragon, and her fear and apprehension at their hectic arrival now all made sense to Ariel. She’d been desperate to cover ground, to reach her draconic bounty and somehow deal with it, all to afford the bailout for her jailed mother. Desperate enough to have reached some kind of powerful magical state, of which she herself had seemed completely unaware.

Her mother had been blackmailed by the guard because of her daughter’s runaway magical ability? Furthermore, she had been accused of stealing and brought into incarceration, only to _die_ before Irika had even gotten a chance to retrieve her? Ariel felt sick at her companion’s misfortune, and she felt sick of worry at her current state. Irika was staring at the jailer who had brought her the grave news, her eyes glazed and demeanor catatonic.

Ariel turned back to the guard captain’s impassive face, and the anger she’d felt before returned tenfold. This disgrace of a constabulary, a _peacekeeper_ , had had the audacity to blackmail a member of the lower classes for Gods know how many years, and then unceremoniously throw her into jail to die when she had become a burden.

“In the name of the General King, I _swear_ to you, one way or another you _will_ pay for this,” she said to the hateful man, wishing nothing more than to just reach out and decapitate this mockery of a law enforcement officer right then and there. She turned back to Irika and reached out to touch her arm. Irika was sitting frighteningly still and emotionless. “Irika?”

The air around Irika exploded. Bolts of lightning shot in every direction as Irika screamed out her anguish and sorrow, stood up and rushed the jailer still standing next to the prison wing door. Her magic missed Ariel, but hit a couple of the men standing guard, who collapsed back several feet and groaned in pain. The guard captain dove below his desk.

“Seize her! Seize the deviant! Kill her!” he screamed at his guard, who had drawn their swords and were uneasily approaching the young woman standing next to the corpse of the jailer, once again enclosed in a shell of thundering magic and eyes glowing an unnatural blue.

Ariel didn’t have to think for long to make her decision. She kicked the desk in front of her over, glared at the uncovered guard captain with all the fury she could muster, and booted him hard in the face with her steel greave. The guard captain fell amongst the remains of his desk with a dull thunk, and lay still. Before the guards could register what had happened, Ariel dashed for her equipment that had been brought to the room by one of the captain’s men, and seized her greatsword. She spun around in a graceful circle and struck one of the stone pillars holding up the rafters of the guardhouse with all of her strength.

Her sword crushed through most of the pillar and sent a spattering of rocks and stone flying into the guard room. The support beam above lurched precariously as the pillar itself crumbled into the ground. The nearest guardsmen who had been advancing on Irika dove for cover. Ariel drew herself up to her full height, pointed her massive sword at the remaining guards and growled with all of the intimidation she could muster.

“Leave. Now.”

Most of the guardsmen turned on their heels and fled. The ones Irika had shocked with her magic before were unsteadily clambering onto their feet, or being helped up by their colleagues. Ariel turned back to Irika only to find her gone and the door to the jailhouse ajar next to the stirring jailer.

“How are you still alive?” Ariel asked the man who had taken in the full, frightening brunt of Irika’s furious point-blank magic. The man, eyes wide with shock, lifted his right hand and stared at the small, crudely crafted brass ring in his middle finger, soundlessly opening and closing his mouth.

Ariel had a sneaking suspicion that this ring had something to do with what the jailed had said before about 'going through possessions'. She wrenched the ring out of the man’s finger, and knocked him out with an elbow to the jaw. A clattering sound behind her made her whirl around. One of the few guards who had stayed behind on the edges of the room was picking up the guard captain, and his hapless guardsmate was dashing madly towards Ariel with his sword aloft in a poor attempt to ambush her. She stood up and stepped to the side, as the guardsman yelled, tripped on her outstretched foot, and feel face first into the pillar the jailer was now slumped against. She turned back to her possessions laid on a side table next to the prison wing door, gathered them as quickly as she could, and dashed after Irika.

The passageway towards the prison wing was a mess. Deep gouges made by Irika’s shell of lightning marked every side of the hallway, pebbles and dust covering the floor. A prison guard was slumped in the corner of a small guard outcropping, his eyes crossed and head lolling from side to side. Finding Irika wasn’t hard; her magical shell of electricity was casting sparks and creating a crackling sound around the corner at the end of the cell wing. Ariel dashed along the hallway, barely registering the open jail cell doors with melted locks, their inhabitants scared and shivering within.

As Ariel turned the corner, the sight and sound of Irika’s magic abruptly stopped. A door was hanging open on one hinge some ways along the corridor. Ariel made for it and stepped inside. Irika was slumped over the body of an older woman in a prisoner's gown lying on one of various tables in the room. She was crying into the woman’s chest, her magical frenzy now gone. Ariel’s heart ached grievously as the young sorceress called out to her dead mother amidst her sobs. She knew how the girl felt, for she had once felt the same. Try as she might, there was nothing she could say or do for her that would make her feel better.

Ariel softly stepped closer to Irika and gently laid her hand on her small back. “We need to-“

“NO!” Irika screamed and turned, lashing out at Ariel with her eyes glowing a solid blue.

It was like the dragon all over again. Ariel’s body was invaded by lightning, her body seizing as she fell on her back onto the floor, excruciatingly painful convulsions wracking her muscles and making her bones and teeth almost crack under the pressure. Then, as suddenly as the magical assault had come, it was gone.

“No- No, I- I… I killed… No…!” Irika was now staring at Ariel, looking horrified at what she had done, her magical rampage now ended in the death of a friend.

“Y-You... you didn't,” Ariel groaned on the floor, propping herself up onto her elbow and managing to sit up. The aftershocks of Irika’s attack were still making her muscles jolt and jitter, but the pain had been replaced by mild exhaustion. Ariel pulled out the unadorned brass ring from her pocket. Irika's eyes glazed over it, a jolt of recognition passing across her face.

“That... My mother's... How…? I...” she uttered, still too stunned and confused to grasp the situation.

“The jailer had it. He's alive but I knocked him out, the guard captain too,” Ariel explained, rubbing the back of her head where it had hit the ground when she fell. A bit of blood was sticking to her fingers from a small cut the impact had opened. Irika visibly shuddered as she saw the blood on Ariel's fingers.

“Irika!” Ariel yelled, noticing the symptoms of oncoming shock on her face. Irika flinched and her glazed look focused on Ariel's eyes. Ariel stood up shakily, crossed the distance between them, put her hand on Irika's shoulder and crouched down to look her in the eye. “You didn't kill anyone. Every guard you hit is still alive. We need to get out of here right now or we will be captured and probably killed. Can you run?” Ariel was speaking strongly and calmly to drive every word through the panic in the young sorceress' head. The time for grieving would come, but it was not now. As of ten minutes ago, they had become enemies of Brunn, and had to leave.

Irika nodded, and took Ariel's extended hand. She glanced back at her mother, but Ariel gently pulled her out of the room. It was only a matter of time before the barracks would be filled with Brunn guard, if it wasn't already. They ran across the corridors and up the stone steps back to the main room. The hall was still devoid of conscious guards, and the unconscious bodies of the Jailer and the guard who had attacked Ariel had vanished.

“They probably have the front doors covered. I think there's a rear entrance but I'm not sure where,” Ariel said, mostly to collect her own thoughts rather than give her companion any meaningful information.

Irika was now breathing heavier than before, clutching her left side and wincing in pain. With a pang Ariel remembered the stab wound she had received last night, stopped and kneeled down to pull the hem of Irika's tunic up. A small amount of blood was trickling out from the wound that had been knitted and salved shut. It looked professionally operated on.

“We need to keep going. It's going to hurt but we need to go. I'm not about to be caught by a corrupt guard, and I'm definitely not letting _you_ get caught by them,” Ariel said, letting down Irika's shirt and squeezing her arm bracingly.

Irika seemed much more coherent than before as she looked at Ariel and nodded. “I- I think I... agh... saw one of the doors leading outside in the corridor they brought me in from,” she said and pointed at the double doors on one end of the room.

“They're opposite to the main doors so it figures. Let's go.” Ariel pulled on Irika's hand again, but she started running on her own strength soon after, still wincing with every step but not losing pace.

“Third door on the left, I think,” Irika said, trying to point at it but abandoning the effort with a flinch of pain. They rushed through the door, across a corridor, though another door, and emerged on a walkway facing downhill towards the edge of the town.

“Backdoor! Get 'em!” A horn sounded right after the shout. Ariel had been ready for the reaction, and pulled Irika directly across the walkway into an alley without pause. They followed the late morning light filtering into the alleyways from the wider streets and walkways; hitting a dead end would spell catastrophe. Ariel glanced behind her and saw a guard giving chase a couple alleyways behind. She took a sharp right turn to lose line of sight, and came to a full stop. Irika bumped against her back and groaned loudly.

Across the alley's exit stood a caramel-coated, black-maned horse. Ariel knew this horse. This horse was the same one she had 'borrowed' from the farmer on their way to Brunn, and the very same horse that had appeared before her as if conjured, when she was taking the injured Irika to a physician. And here it was again, appearing seemingly out of nowhere when they needed a ride the most.

“What... No fucking _way_!” Ariel yelled out loud as Irika peeked around her back, her pained face drenched in sweat.

“Is- is it the guard? Should we fight?” she asked weakly.

Ariel was certain her injured companion couldn't have fought a chicken in her state. “No. It's an... old friend. We're going to ride. It's going to be painful, so brace yourself.”

She swiftly reoriented the greatsword on her back to hang sideways, checked that her other gear was properly fastened, put her hand on the unsaddled horse for support, and leapt up onto its back. A small “whoa” escaped Irika's lips, as she goggled up at Ariel.

“Come on! We need to go!” Ariel said, turning the steed around and extending her hand to Irika. A guard was rounding the corner in the alleyway behind them as Ariel awkwardly pulled her companion up to sit in front of her and gave the horse a gentle slap on the rump. “Go,” she urged it. “Hand me the reins, quick!” she added to Irika, as they started to slowly trot towards the edge of the city, chased by a sharp blast of a signal horn.

Irika fumbled with the reins twisting around her leg, clutching her side and drawing short, sharp breaths. She managed to get a proper hold of the reins and handed them over her head to Ariel, who whipped them and worked the beast into a gallop. Irika was moaning and sobbing in pain in front of her, but the horn's echo in the street meant the guard station at the opposite end of it would be ready for them.

The street was teeming with pedestrians, but the galloping horse and the signal horns blowing on either end spooked them to huddle up against the various houses and stands. Ariel led the steed along the road towards the guard station, until she banked a hard right and went straight for a guard wall instead. Even with her friend groaning in agony next to her, she couldn't help the grin spreading on her face as she saw the guard wall all but abandoned. All of the guards would be covering the obvious exits, quite probably with gates and blockades that no amount of speed or force would get them through. But, if Ariel's commander's sense was correct, the haphazard footmen would have left their stations in haste for that effort, and hastily abandoned stations always spelled woefully open doors. Or fortunately open from any fugitives' viewpoint.

As the base of the guardwall came in sight, Ariel almost whooped with excitement. She'd been right; the guards leaving the guard wall to blockade the exits on either side had left the wall station doors ajar. In the shade of the last alleyway before the great wall, Ariel tugged back to slow the horse down to a halt and surveyed the base of the rampart. Nobody in sight, no horns sounding, no eyes on them from above. Surely there was a point guard atop the battlements, but there would be no way for him to see them if they were _inside_ the wall. Ariel directed the horse to trot into the open door of the guard station.

The station was definitely not meant for horseback exploration, but they had just enough space when Ariel dropped down as they entered the wall. If her hunch proved correct, they would find a reinforced gate leading to the outside on either end of the station.

“You alright?” she whispered to Irika, who was hunched over the horse, clutching its mane white-knuckled and panting heavily.

“N-no… but we h-have to go, right?” she gasped between breaths, and Ariel felt a twist of regret in her gut at her earlier bout of excitement and thrill at the ride and the plan.

“Yes. Try to hang on, we'll be out of here soon, and then we can take care of your wound and stop the hurting,” Ariel replied, hoping that Irika would be able to pull through. She wished she would've packed opiates on her journey to soothe Irika's pain, but she hadn't exactly been planning to get grievously injured during her travels. What remedial salve she did have with her would have to wait until they were rid of the city and its guard.

Ariel walked the horse through the corridor spanning the wall's length. The furious beating of her heart seemed to still for a second every time a doorway on the outside wall wasn't the hatch to freedom they were looking for. Her ears were strained for horns, shouts or footsteps, though the latter would be difficult to hear behind the horse's own hooffalls. If there were guards here, they could definitely hear them coming, but fortune seemed to really shine their way this day.

They were nearing the barred door at the end of the wall, which led to the outside at one of the main exits from the city. Ariel hushed the horse to a stop, and carefully walked on for a few steps to take a look. Intermittent shouting of search orders was issuing from beyond the barred door. The gate leading to and from the city was closed and guarded by half a dozen men behind sharpened wooden barricades. There had been no door leading outside within the walls. Ariel's plan was a failure.

“Ariel... Here...” she heard Irika's weak voice coming from behind her. She was still lying on the horse and clutching her side, but she was also pointing a door right next to her on the outer edge of the wall. “D-draft...” she gasped and let her arm fall limply onto the horse's side as soon as it had done its job.

Ariel quietly returned to the horse and crouched down at the door at which Irika had been pointing. And sure enough, she felt and heard a draft coming from under it. “Hold on for just a bit longer” she said to Irika and patted her limp arm. She unsheathed her shortsword and brought it down onto the plate lock holding it shut. It took several loud stabs, but the miraculous sword eventually cut through the plate and severed the lock. She looked around, heart hammering, ready for guards to burst in at any moment. But none came. She slowly opened the door to a small room with a metallic hatch covering the entire floor, presumably openable to a pitfall or a moat to deter invaders from flowing in. As per their seemingly divine luck, the hatch was closed.

“ _It's not like anyone's trying to break_ in _right now,”_ Ariel thought to herself wryly. Another reinforced door stood at the opposite end of the room, and several moments of violent bladework later, the lock cracked open. Ariel pushed open the door to the outside of the wall. A quick peek revealed no guards around. She could hardly believe they had made it, as she led the horse into the small room. The outside door was slightly too low to accommodate for its height, so she tugged on the reins to make the beast bow. It refused.

“Come on now buddy, we've gotten this far!” Ariel hissed as the horse threw its head and stomped its hooves in indignation. The resounding clanks of hooves on hollow metal echoed throughout the wall station. Shouts could be heard from outside the barred door leading to the gate. “Please! I'll buy you all the carrots you'd ever want!” Ariel pleaded the animal and tried to force its head down with muscle power alone, to no avail. The shouts were more pronounced now and Ariel could hear keys clinking against metal bars from frighteningly close by.

“Please...” a muffled voice said from on top of the horse, and a pale hand stroked its neck weakly. The horse puffed and bowed its head. Ariel pulled it outside with more force than she'd intended, and had to quell a small fit of snorting and head throwing before she could round it and attempted to mount it.

“Please let me on, we need to _go,_ ” Ariel whispered as the steed was still clearly miffed at her. Irika's hand was still caressing the horse's neck, and Ariel found a gap during which she could hoist herself on top of the beast behind her companion again. She whipped the reins and clicked her tongue loudly.

They were off. The sounds and horns of the guards slowly faded into the distance as they galloped down the road northeast from Brunn. Irika was now laying completely inanimate on top of the horse, one of her arms still under her stomach and one swinging limply on the horse's side. Ariel was desperate to find shelter and confirm that her companion wasn't dead.

 

 

_Lost and Forgotten_

 

_...her! Look wha... ...n do!_

She was holding it. She couldn't grasp it, but it belonged to her.

_...NO!_

Pain. She was more afraid than she had ever felt.

_...YOU MONSTER!... ...D'VE DIED BEF... ...RE BORN..._

Agony attached itself onto her back, arms, chest and legs, like it seemed to have done so many times before.

_...xistence is... ...mistake... ...cannot era... ...ease just die... ..n't you just die..._

Every inch of her body was pain, her mind unable to leave to a happier place as it struck her again and again.

_...can't ta... ...anymore... ...had eno... ...'m going and I'm taking you with me._

She was being suffocated, struggling madly, then falling through the air as it dug into her skin and tore her apart.

_...please save her!_

A kind-looking woman's face was distorted with panic and worry.

_This... ...ght be beyo... ...lp of my..._

Softly glowing hands hovered over her, but she could no longer feel anything.

_..ould've stepped... ...earlier... ...poor girl sh... ...rved none of th..._

The kind-looking woman broke into tears.

_...miraculous, but sh... ...normally... ...hough there..._

She felt like the sky was watching her, keeping her safe.

_..ll pay anyth... ...pentance, I don... ...st take care of he..._

The sky whispered to her, promising her that she would prevail.

_..rry, I'm so s..._

The sky smiled at her and bid her farewell, as her body became hers again.

_...you Irika, it wa... ...n't want to rem... ...you?_

Someone was moving her legs for her. It felt very unpleasant.

_...'s eating, but n... ...be she wa... ...atized and lo... ...oice?_

The pain hadn't come anymore, but she felt lost.

_...is A, can you say it af... ...B, C, D... ...ou alright? I c..._

With all the effort she could muster, she lifted her arm and grabbed it. It slipped through her fingers and hit her chest.

_...right, Irika! Just tr... ...thing smaller... ...ld this?..._

She could feel its solidity between her fingers. She could feel its softness under her back and legs. She could feel it rushing into her chest as she breathed. She could feel it going down into her stomach as she swallowed. She could feel.

_...dness! You alr... ...it easy... ...o slowly and hea..._

The pain became her past. The kind woman's face became her everything.

_...up! Wow! Now w... ...sh we coul... ...e this somewh... ...ft and warm..._

She was whole again. Time started to flow.

_...ink yers call kill a... ...to yer momma!_

The kind woman's face was ebbing away from her.

_...on Heide, Knight of..._

She had to hurry.

_...ld thief? She died in her cell tw..._

Her past returned sharply in her left side. Her everything vanished.

 

“NOOOOOO!”

 

Irika jolted up from where she had been lying. She was covered in sweat, breathing rapidly, and felt a dull, stinging pain in her left side.

“Irika! Thank the Gods!” The kind woman's face appeared from behind the curtain in the doorway. Irika blinked her eyes madly, swallowed hard, then bent over the bedside and vomited onto the floor. “Are you alright?! Talk to me! Please!” The kind woman's blurry face came closer, once again distorted in panic and worry.

“Water... please...” Irika own voice sounded unfamiliar to her, as if she had swallowed a bucketful of gravel. Her throat felt excruciatingly dry and smarted from the acid that had just passed through it.

“Here. There's more.” The kind-looking woman's face was greatly distorted as she pushed a metal cup into Irika's violently shaking hand.

Irika drank deeply and felt life return to her insides. “More...” she gasped, not bothering to wipe the water that splashed over from her lips and trickled down her chin.

The kind-looking woman's face started coming into focus and turning into someone else. “Here.” The cup was pushed into her hand again.

Again she drank and started to become aware of herself and aware of the things around her.

Ariel's worried face was looking at her.

She was sitting on a bed.

She felt extremely weak and hungry.

She was alive.

“What...” She furiously worked her sluggish mind to figure out what was real and what wasn't, what was the present and what was the past. Who she was and who she had been. Various memories she didn't know she'd had flickered in her mind. She turned over the side of the bed and vomited again.

Another cup of water was pushed into her hand, then another. She drank and she sobbed. The dull pain in her side had been overtaken by a severe ache in her heart, ache for her dead mother, ache for the scars of her past. An arm wrapped around her shoulder and gently held her head, as she pushed her face into Ariel's chest and tried to fight the tears.

“She's awake. Is she coherent?” Irika started at the unfamiliar voice and looked up. At some point, an elderly woman with a lined, worried face had come into the room and was now crouching next to Ariel at Irika's bedside. Irika thought she had started hallucinating again.

“Yes, but she has gone through a lot. Please give her some time,” Ariel said, rubbing Irika's back gently.

“Very well. I will examine her later.” The woman rose and left.

Irika's mind felt numb. Her mother was dead. She'd died alone in a cold prison cell. Irika should've been there with her.

“ _But she even said it herself, she didn't have much time left anyway.”_

Regardless, she would rather have died at her mother's side than carry on with this pain.

“ _I did my best to save her. I traveled as fast as I could and overcame dragons and orcs. There was nothing more I could've done.”_

Was that really true? Could she not have just worked for or stolen the ransom money that the thugs were demanding of her? Leaving the city made them sell out her mother to the guard almost immediately.

“ _There was no way I could have known their plans, and they wouldn't have told me.”_

Then she should've just stayed and tried to sneak her mother out. There had to be some way.

“ _There was none. I did everything right.”_

“SHUT UP! I should've died too!” Irika shouted into Ariel's chest.

Ariel withdrew her arm from around Irika, lifted her chin softly and tapped her cheek hard enough to smart. “And what would that have done?” Ariel asked sharply, brow furrowed in anger.

“It would've taken away the pain,” Irika snapped just as hotly. She would've gladly gotten stabbed a dozen more times if it meant her mother would still be there.

“And everything else,” Ariel grabbed the front of Irika's tunic and brought her face inches from Irika's. “You're not the only one in this world who has lost much. I don't claim to know what led to this or attempt to justify any of it. The best way to honor the dead is to live and remember.” Her voice was stern but her face was no longer angry. Instead the look in her pitch-black eyes was sympathetic and sad.

Irika felt tired and angry. Part of her wanted to scream in Ariel's face. What did she know of her or her mother? Yet, another part realized that the knight must've lost much herself, besides just her left arm. Surely she knew of loss, and she was still there, serving the cause of justice instead of wallowing in grief and self-pity. But Irika's grief was just too overpowering to bear. She couldn't stop her tears anymore. Her mother had been her entire life, she'd given her everything in exchange for nothing. How would she go on?

“I- I don't know what to do a-anymore,” she sobbed, lost.

Ariel sidled closer and enveloped her into another hug. “It will come to you in time. For now, grieve. I'll be here,” she said gently.

Irika let her tears come unrestrained into Ariel's chest. There was comfort in her warmth, but it also reminded her of her mother much more acutely. Still, that infuriatingly realistic part of her brain whispered, she would much rather be like this than crying alone.

 

* * *

 

Irika woke again, this time to no pain or discomfort. The last time she'd felt physically alright seemed like a lifetime ago, even if the strangling pain in her heart still persisted. She was desperately hungry, but the unpleasant sensation in her stomach made her feel alive and present.

Night had fallen and draped everything in darkness, except for a single lamplight shining dully from across the room. Irika made out a silhouette of a tall woman sitting between her and the lamp, and could hear the scratching of a pencil against parchment issuing from beyond.

“Ariel?” she asked carefully.

Ariel turned around in her chair. Her dark red hair shimmered in the backlight. “Hey there. How are you feeling?”

“Tired. Sad. Really hungry,” Irika sniffed. She still felt the exhaustion of having cried and grieved for what seemed like hours, but she also felt like she didn't have many more tears left, at least not for tonight.

“Let me get you something, I'll be right back.” Ariel rose from the chair, as the lamp behind her momentarily blinded Irika with its direct glare.

Irika sat up on her bed. She didn't know how long she'd been out altogether, but it must have been at least days, considering how weak and hungry she felt. She brought her hand under her tunic, to the side in which she remembered receiving the stab wound, and felt a dull twinge of ache below the patch of linen that covered it. Someone must have healed her while she was unconscious. Ariel, perhaps? As far as Irika knew, the knight only had medicinal herbs and salves at her disposal, and being stabbed with a sword most likely would have required something more.

If anything, she would at least like to thank whomever had done it before thinking about wanting to die again. The curtain covering the door shifted in the dim light as Ariel returned.

“Here. You've been unconscious for two and a half days, so you should start with soup. Eat something too heavy and it'll come right back up.” Ariel sat down onto the stool next to Irika's bed and laid a tray with a bowl on it onto Irika's lap. She picked up a spoon off the tray, stirred the lightly steaming soup for a moment, and then lifted the spoon up towards Irika. “It shouldn't be too hot since it's been cooling for about half an hour. Timely awakening by the way, we just had our dinner.”

“I can eat myself, you know,” Irika mumbled, but accepted the feeding Ariel provided her regardless.

“Yep, but you should focus on getting better first. You've been through a hell of a lot,” Ariel said and scooped up another spoonful of soup.

A new, marginally less severe pang of sadness struck Irika, and her eyes started to well up again. “What the hell _did_ I even go through? I only remember bits and pieces after seeing Brunn from atop the hill,” she asked Ariel, trying to distance her mind from immediate thoughts of her mother.

She ate the absurdly delicious soup quietly and listened to Ariel recount the tale of their arrival in Brunn, their sentencing, and their escape. Her tears betrayed her again, as Ariel pushed through the news of her mother's demise and set the small brass ring into Irika's hand.

“This... This was my mother's. I had no idea it was magical. I- I guess it makes sense, she n-never did seem to mind being accidentally shocked by my magic much.” The fact that her mother had procured a magical ring to protect herself from Irika did make a lot of sense to her. But where had she gotten it? And how much had it cost? All for her sake, as with everything else. Her mother had cared for her and protected her. Not called her a monster, tortured her and abandoned her. The memories that her feverish nightmare had uncovered returned to the forefront of her mind sharply and vividly. She shivered violently and felt sick again.

“We rode for a few hours before I could risk to pull you down and check your wound. It had reopened and was bleeding pretty bad, so I salved it and wrapped it up,” Ariel recounted the tale of their escape. “Had to travel slow afterwards to prevent more damage, but luckily I found this old couple's homestead about six hours' travel from Brunn. The wife, Ries, is a healer.”

Ariel's half-lit face was shaded fully as she looked down and clutched her brow. “Everything about our escape was so ridiculously lucky. I don't know whether I should thank the Gods for this or what, honestly I'm having a minor crisis of faith here myself.” She looked back up with a half-grin, which vanished as soon as she saw Irika's face. “What's wrong? Soup disagreeing with you?”

“No... No. I remembered - things...” Irika put her hand up to her mouth and swallowed down a fit of sickness that threatened to rid her of the scarce food she'd just managed to eat.

“Hey!” Ariel's shout and powerful fingersnap startled Irika so hard she jumped a little. “Listen to me. You are safe here. There's nothing that can hurt you now, not even your memories. And if someone tries...” The glint in Ariel's half-shaded eyes was positively frightening as she stared into Irika's own. “... I will take care of them.”

Irika nodded, the invading memories from her past slowly receding from the way of the present. Did Ariel actually have the power to beat up memories? It seemed like she would, if anyone. Maybe... maybe, if she truly were to stay with her for now, maybe she might eventually possibly be fine again someday. Hazy memories about mercenaries and contracts returned to Irika. “I- I can't pay you anything for any of this,” she said, looking away from Ariel's concerned face.

“Pay?” Ariel sounded thoroughly dumbfounded. Irika glanced at her. The knight's eyebrows had disappeared beyond her hairline.

“You're an elite mercenary, right? You've protected me for days, saved my life at least... three times? Four? I can't even begin to count the number of ways I owe you. I can't even begin to think how I could possibly pay you back.” Irika's voice came out hoarse with desperation. She felt a sudden stab of guilt and anger at her own helplessness. She had dragged this noble knight through the mud for a useless slum deviant.

Ariel sighed deep and put down the spoon she'd been holding for a while. She lifted Irika's chin again. Irika flinched and closed her eyes, expecting another chiding slap, but instead Ariel softly caressed Irika's cheek with her warm, rough hand. “Listen. I may be a knight and a merc and whatnot, but before it all I'm human. Whatever the State may teach us about contracts and payments, when someone right in front of me is in trouble, I'll do my best to help.” She slipped her hand up from Irika's cheek and ruffled her hair.

“The thing is, 'my best' is usually very restricted to physical things. Fighting. And you just happened to bring me along on an adventure where my strength was useful. That thought is very welcome and humbling, after having been kicked out of Capital City for being useless.” She let out a deep sigh. “I've long since come to terms with the fact that my physical strength can't do everything. As much as I regret not being able to do more for you, I can also find solace in the thought that I really did do everything I could.” Ariel let her hand fall away from Irika's hair and looked her in the eye. “And as I saw it, so did you. It's a very bitter thought to accept, but it's the closest thing we can have to the absolute truth, and it's the best thing we get to help us move on.”

Irika wiped a few tears from her cheeks, swallowed heavily and nodded. “Thank you,” was all she could manage to get out.


	9. The Plan and the Pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Healing and promises.

 

_First Steps_

 

Irika spent the next few days in bed. Her hunger and physical weakness were easy enough to cure, for the food she was served in her resting room was quite easily the best she had ever eaten. Ariel had dropped her insistence on feeding her when Irika threatened to dip a bowlful of soup down her shirt. It had taken her a full day to notice that the rough hemp clothes she had worn for several years had been replaced by newer, softer linens of almost the same color. Her tunic and pants had apparently been in way too rough a shape to salvage, but her boots and the colorfully ornamented sleeve she usually wore on her right arm were sitting on a bench next to her bedstead.

Ries, the elderly woman she'd seen in the room before, had provided her with clothing that the elderly couple's daughter had left when she'd moved to Hilders after work so many years ago. “I couldn't bear to throw them away after she left, but it'll be better if they find new use from someone who needs them," the old healer had said kindly. She had told Irika various stories about how the farmstead had always felt too cramped for her daughter, and how she had always felt the need to get out of the hills and explore the city, the mountains and the sea.

“She is such a talented artist.” The old woman had gestured at the beautifully painted picture of an apple tree hanging over Irika's bed. “She deserves to paint many more things than we have here. She hasn't come back home for over twenty years, but sends paintings and letters almost every month. I believe right now she's somewhere across the sea, far to the west,” she'd reminisced, smiling gently at the apple tree.

Irika had felt apprehensive about accepting clothes from the woman who had also healed her and given her food and shelter, but she'd graciously accepted the hospitality after a chiding from Ariel. "Accept what you get in times of need and be grateful for it. Declining goodwill is akin to an insult toward your benefactors," she had said in her usual stern, authoritarian cadence. "Nothing good comes out of being a martyr out of folly. Think about what you can do in return, or what you can do to pay the kindness forward."

Ariel seemed to always find the best words to make Irika feel childish and embarrassed of herself, and she never hesitated to speak her mind. And most of the time she was right, too. The fact didn't make her delivery any less jarring, though. Sometimes Irika felt like tact wasn't even a part of Ariel's code of conduct. But she also had to acquiesce that her commanding style of assurance was very effective at drilling in the point behind her words, even though it didn't leave much room for argumentation.

 _"I suppose it's to be expected from a high-ranking knight,"_ Irika thought, and was secretly glad that she was not one of Ariel's subordinates. Her guilt kept piling on her conscience when she found out that Ariel had been spending her spare time working various repairs and other oddjobs for the elderly couple during the day, while she had been lazing around in bed. The fact that she was still healing hardly eased her guilt. Ries and her husband apparently had a farmhand and a maid to aid them in their daily farmwork, but there were many things in need of fixing or lifting, and Ariel had told Irika that she'd been more than happy to oblige. But why was she even still here in the first place? Irika was recovering well, and her caretakers insisted on not wanting any recompense from her. Surely the knight had her mission to return to, instead of sticking around for all the farmstead busywork and the occasional word with a wounded orphan?

The last thought brought to her mind the most obvious answer: pity. Ariel pitied Irika for her sorry fate and wished to see her on her feet before departing. They would go their separate ways and that would be that. But what would it mean for Irika? She no longer had a home to return to. She was a wanted criminal in her city of birth, and she knew of no relatives or friends of her own or her mother's whatsoever. Maybe she could stay here and help Ries and her husband with farmwork. She had no experience in it, but surely she would learn. She could also pay back for their kindness and hospitality that way.

Irika nodded to herself, resolved. She felt strong enough to get on her feet by now, and the pain in her side had faded enough to no longer hamper her movements. She lifted herself up from the bed, gingerly laid her feet onto the cold stone floor, and stood up. Her legs were shaky but able to carry her. She picked up her boots and focusing bracer from the chair and sat down on it to put them on. As she pulled the adorned sleeve onto her forearm, she realized that the small leather strap that had connected it to her previous tunic had been sewed onto the new one she was wearing. The thoughtfulness of her caretakers left her stunned for a long moment, before she could manage to pick herself up from the chair.

It must've been close to midday, as she had not seen Ariel for at least a couple of hours, after she had stopped by to make her morning greeting and bring Irika breakfast. Irika wobbled slowly towards the curtain separating her room from the outside, and pushed it aside. She was momentarily blinded by the bright sunlight, her eyes still used to the dimness of her room. As she regained vision she witnessed a breathtakingly picturesque scene of the main farmhouse on top of a small knoll a few hundred yards in front of her, rolling plains gently descending on each side. The wide open sky above greeted her like an old friend, and she spent a long, blissful moment just swaying in the gentle breeze and staring up at the sparse clouds that slowly rolled by.

The beautiful day truly mocked everything that she'd been through... or perhaps it was an attempt to soothe her in her time of anguish? Amidst the muddle of her older, painful memories, she couldn't help but feel that this wouldn't have been the first time she'd been protected by the grace of the heavens.

The bleating of various farmyard animals she'd heard before from within her room brought her attention back towards the ground. She saw a few goats and a couple of cows on free pasture around the farmhouse, some chickens and ducks in wide corrals made especially for them, and an oddly familiar looking horse grazing on the grass a few dozen yards from her. Her eyes lingered on the animals for a moment, before she turned to look back at the building her room was in. The door she'd just come out of was one of four doors in a long red annex building. All of the doors were covered by a similar colorful summer curtain, and the rooms beyond quite probably housed Ariel and the farmhand and maid she'd heard about but not seen yet.

As she was taking in the quaint sights, Irika noticed the horse she'd seen before slowly walking towards her. She didn't know what to make of it until the horse was standing right in front of her, peering at her with its big black eyes.

"Hey there," she greeted the animal carefully, not knowing whether she should touch it or run away.

“Howdy there, pardner! Feeling fit enough to be on your feet?” Ariel's smiling head popped out of her room adjacent to Irika's. “I see you've met my friend,” she added and walked up to ruffle Irika's hair.

At first Irika had felt all the hair ruffling to be a bit condescending and annoying, but lately she found herself unconsciously closing her eyes and enjoying the sensation every time it happened. “Your friend?” she asked, sweeping her bangs out of her eyes and looking up at Ariel. She was wearing very simple farmhand's clothing with small rips and stains here and there, her hair tied to a haphazard ponytail on the side of her head. The left arm of the farmer's shirt was tied in a knot at her side, and her pants were way too short for her legs. All in all it was a ridiculously jarring contrast to the impeccable knight's garb she usually wore, yet Irika couldn't help but think that this suited her quite nicely as well.

“Yup. This buddy here saved us back there. Seriously saved. There's no way either of us would've gotten in or out of Brunn without it.” Ariel stroked the horse’s neck. It shirked away from Ariel's hand, then whipped its muzzle to hit her in the stomach. “Ugh...! It seems to have some problem with me, though. Not that I blame it, I pushed it kind of hard back there.” She frowned glumly.

Irika gaped at the horse, who was now staring at her again. “ _In or out of Brunn?_ Are you telling me this is the same horse that...” her thoughts returned back to sift through the hazy memories of their frantic visit to the great city.

“Yup. The very same one that I basically stole from that poor farmer.” Ariel's quick, sheepish smile shone with guilt as she looked away from Irika. “I did try to make it hustle back towards its home. Then, after you were hurt by the orc, I was carrying you towards the city with a Brunn guardsman, and there it was. Like it had been waiting for us to require its services again.” She shook her head in disbelief. “And if that hadn't been enough, do you remember what happened in the city alleyway? This guy was there, again! I have no idea how it managed to find us, but without its help we would've been caught and probably executed by now.” Ariel reached to stroke the horse again, but stopped her hand in mid-air and decided against it.

“Is it a he or a she?” Irika asked, now carefully reaching up to the animal's huge head herself. The horse sniffed Irika's hand once, then pushed its muzzle into it. Irika stroked the its face and cheeks as it puffed in satisfaction.

“Huh. I was wrong, this guy's _your_ friend, not mine,” Ariel sniffed. “And come to think of it, I don't know.” She bent down to check the horse's underside. “A girl she is,” she concluded and stood back up.

“Thank you,” Irika said to the horse earnestly. She had never been in close contact with too many animals, but she couldn't help feeling that this one was more than just a dumb beast. Why else would it have served them so bravely and miraculously? “ _Then again,”_ she thought to herself, _“Perhaps I've just read too many fairytales.”_ The horse snorted, bumped Irika gently with its muzzle and turned back to gait towards the farmyard.

“You know, if I didn't know better I'd say it knows exactly what it did,” Ariel said, absent-mindedly rubbing her stomach as she watched the retreating horse.

“I don't know much about animals, but I bet she does!” Irika responded, finding herself smiling for what felt like the first time in ages. Her cheek muscles felt odd and stiff, but not opposed to the act. “What's going to happen to it now?” she added and looked at Ariel.

“I suppose we'll either leave it here, or take it with us when we move on. Taking it back to Brunn would be too risky, and it seems to have taken a liking to you, besides,” Ariel replied and shrugged.

Irika's mind jolted as she heard Ariel's plan. She didn't know which question to ask first. “Take it _with us_? Where? I- I mean, _us?_ Are we going somewhere?”

Ariel stared at her blankly. “I mean, yeah? We need to get going at some point, right? I'm not in a hurry or anything, but I do have an errand to run at Erwayn.” Irika noticed Ariel's eyes widen and jaw set for a fraction of a second. “Or, were you thinking of staying here? I suppose Ries and Ferdinand might have some work for you, if you think you'd like the farming lifestyle.” She glanced away from Irika. “Or... Do you want to return to Brunn...?” She turned back and her eyes were stern. “Personally, I don't think there's anything but misery for you there.”

Irika had had plenty of time to mull over her options whilst bedridden, but none of the ones that had occurred to her had seen her returning to Brunn. And none of the realistic ones that had occurred to her had seen her continuing to travel with Ariel. “You mean... I could come with you?” she asked, feeling her heartrate pick up and head buzzing with something like hope.

“That's kind of what I assumed. Though come to think about it, that was really conceited of me. Leave it to a knight to make decisions for other people,” Ariel sighed and rubbed her temple awkwardly. “You never really talked about your future plans, so... I just-”

“I'll come!” Irika almost shouted and leapt forward to clutch the sleeve of Ariel's working shirt. Ariel visibly recoiled and gaped at Irika.

"I suppose that means you've all but recovered!" came Ries' cheerful voice from behind her. A large, overtly friendly dog came pelting down the hill and forcefully pushed its happy face into their hands, as Irika turned to greet the elderly woman.

"Ries! Hello! Umm... I suppose so," Irika replied, feeling slightly embarrassed at her eagerness to leave. "I was thinking whether I should stay here or go, but..." She glanced back at Ariel, who was now petting the dog with fervor bordering on amusing. The dog was beside itself with joy as it tried to lick every inch of Ariel's face. Irika's thoughts and what she saw collided in a confusing mess that made her want to laugh, cry and slap herself at the same time.

"Oh don't mind us. Youngsters should see the world and experience many things instead of rotting away at a farmstead." Ries' smile was genuine. "I've said the same thing to Mathilde and Boren, but they insist that this is the place where they want to be," she added.

Irika hadn't heard the names before, but reckoned the old woman meant the maid and the farmhand in their employ. "I'm just... I can't help but feel like I owe you so much," she said, her gut wrenching from guilt towards the elderly couple's unconditional kindness. "You healed me, fed me and took care of me. You even clothed me. I have to pay you back somehow."

"Nonsense." Ries waved her hand at Irika and shook her head. "Me and my husband made plenty enough money selling the majority of our farmland as we grew too old to care for them. And besides, you brought with yourself one workhorse of a woman!" Ries walked up to Ariel and cackled as she slapped her arm jovially. "I swear, this big 'un can do more work with just one arm than all of our farmhands back in the day could do combined!"

Ariel flexed her arm and grinned victoriously. "Told ya, physical things!" Her face fell into an abrupt frown and her eyes went empty. "Never ever try to make me cook or clean, though. That'll end with too many broken things." Irika noticed her shudder slightly.

Ries laughed heartily as she patted Irika's arm in turn. "How about I give you one final check-up before you start making your traveling preparations?" The old woman's pale blue eyes twinkled with affection. A mother's instincts, Irika supposed. Another painful reminder of what she'd lost. She nodded mutely, looking at her feet. It was still hard to swallow down the tears that threatened to come, but she'd do her best to leave Ries and this wonderful place with a smile.

That was the very least she could do.

 

 

_Permanence_

 

Ariel felt another sting of pity and sympathy as she watched her sorceress companion and the kind old woman retreat back into the resting room. Ries was a very kind woman, but for someone who had just lost her mother it must've felt like a double-edged blade. Even Ariel felt a squeeze of nostalgia and longing from Ries' gentle smile, even though she had been extremely young when she'd lost her own mother, and could not even remember her face well anymore.

Irika's reaction to her plans had taken Ariel by surprise twice; first when she had realized that Irika might want to stay, and again when she had taken to the idea of resuming travel together so much she could hardly contain herself. Ariel pondered her own feelings on the matter, absent-mindedly stroking the golden-furred dog's belly and watching its tail wiggle wildly on the ground. She had quite taken a liking to the spirited, raggedy young sorceress, and had assumed that they'd resume traveling together by default.

But why had she assumed that? Why _wouldn't_ Irika want to stay in this idyllic place, to work for these good people and be in their care? The more Ariel thought about it, the more of a truism it seemed to be. Very few people would rather choose to continue traveling with a wayward knight with no purpose to herself. Yet somehow their interests seemed to have aligned in the end. It made Ariel glad, but in part confused as to how and why. Her blunt and egocentric way of thinking had first been shattered by the reality of Irika's situation, and then again by her seemingly nonsensical choice.

"Gah. Might as well just ask her," Ariel said to herself, rubbing her head, hurting from the amount of variables crisscrossing within. She was good at hitting things with swords, not with putting herself into other people's shoes and thinking from their perspective. Ariel gave the dog's belly a final pat, picked herself up and turned to head into Irika's room. She hoped the sorceress wouldn't be too affronted about the knight barging in on her examination. Ariel knocked on the doorframe and peeked in. "Hey, I-..." The rest caught in her throat as she saw the sorceress standing in her underbriefs in the middle of the room, being examined by Ries in the lamplight.

Almost every single inch of her shoulders, back and legs were covered with scars. They ranged from deep gouges to spatterings of smaller drop-shaped scars, with one extremely large and deep gash starting on her right shoulder, crossing her back and disappearing around her side to her stomach. Ariel had noticed the clusters of small scars on Irika's unsleeved arm before, but she had seen too many combat scars to have paid them much mind. This sight, however, shocked her all the way down to her core.

"How do you even survive something like that...?" The question escaped Ariel's lips on its own. Irika inhaled sharply and turned around, surprised by her voice. The scarring was slightly less severe on her front, but still harsh enough to throw a collection of dull shadows onto her pale skin. The huge scar extending from her back and around her side terminated in a large star-shaped formation between her navel and right hip bone. Ariel had missed all of this when she had taken a look at the wound that had now become Irika's newest scar on her other side.

Irika was shamefully covering herself as Ariel realized that she was staring, whirled around and walked out of the room. She felt slightly sick. She was definitely no stranger to combat wounds, having quite a few scars herself, and an arm less besides. But this was different, Irika was no combatant. As far as Ariel knew, she had lived with her mother in the slums of Brunn, working her entire life. Why was her skin more mangled than that any of the most grizzled knights' in the State?

The friendly dog was bumping its head against Ariel's legs again, but she couldn't afford any attention for the fuzzy creature. Her blood chilled when she thought about what the poor girl must've gone through to receive all of those scars. She was only eighteen and had already suffered through Gods know what. Judging from the severity of the largest scar around her, it was a sheer miracle that she was even still alive.

Ariel's pity had been all but blown away by a soldier's admiration for the amount of strength and perseverance it must've taken to carry on through everything that Irika, a civilian, had experienced. She felt embarrassed and ashamed by her own gripes about losing her station in the State. Sure, she had lost her arm, but her position was still strong and comfortable. She was not rich, but had no want for reputation or skill with which to carve her fortune from here on out.

But what would Irika have had when she had received those scars? At best, a meager life among the lowest classes of a brutal metropolis. At worst, a reputation as a _known deviant,_ and more pain and suffering dished out by whomever was the despicable _fuck_ that had scarred her so badly. Ariel felt sick, she felt angry and she felt pain for her companion. She hadn't cried for over ten years, not even when her arm had been violently ripped out, but now, Irika and her scars threatened to raise tears into her eyes.

But why had she walked out of the room? It hadn't been because Irika was unclothed, it had been because of the scars. Knights and soldiers stood together through thick and thin, something like scars or pain weren't significant enough to warrant leaving them behind. On the contrary, mutual suffering often only served to strengthen their bond, Ariel knew this intimately thanks to her own loss. What must Irika have felt when Ariel had seen her scars and left? Ariel's gut wrenched with shame. Her surprise was no excuse for her rudeness. She knocked on Irika's doorframe again, this time waiting for a reply before rushing in.

"Yeah?" Irika's high and slightly tense reply came from within. Ariel poked her head back inside. The sorceress was now clothed again, her skin carefully covered everywhere except her left arm. Ariel hadn't given it any thought before, but it must've been deliberate from the get-go.

"I'm sorry for barging in, and I'm sorry for rushing out. That was double rude. My manners fail my title," Ariel said, inclining her head towards Irika.

"It's okay. I understand," Irika said, almost managing to smile. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

" _No!_ " Ariel’s blood flash boiled as she took three rapid strides, closed the gap between her and Irika, and squeezed her shoulder. Irika flinched and looked terrified. For the first time in her life Ariel hated herself a little for her forcefulness. Subtlety had never been her forte, and once again she found herself just pushing through in spite of the part of herself that wanted to calm down and reason. "You have _nothing_ to be sorry about!" she said hotly, not able to curb her anger, directed mostly at herself.

Ries' warm hand touched Ariel's. The old healer was smiling as always. "Feelings are not something you decide for others..." she looked at Irika, "...or push onto them," she looked at Ariel. "For two people who can't yet read each other's feelings just by existing together, talking is very important. How about we do that over a warm cup of tea?" There was an odd twinkle in the old woman's eyes as she took both of their hands and led them towards the farmhouse.

Ries' gentle wisdom melted Ariel's temper away. Irika seemed to untense as well, as they both quietly followed her.

 

* * *

 

Ariel was still twisting in her seat from the turbulent and foreign emotions inside her head, as Ries set down a cup of tea for her and Irika. "Haven't seen Ferdinand in a while," she said, trying to focus on something concrete.

"Oh, he must be whittling in the attic. Once he gets into the mindset, you might not see him in days. And then, he'll just appear with a carving of some animal or person." Ries chuckled lightly. "He ends up using them as firewood himself, but he's definitely improving! Our daughter must've lit the flame of creation within him."

"I want... I need to tell you something." Irika spoke suddenly, her voice sounding like she had come to a shaky decision. "Will you listen to me too, Ries?" she asked the old woman almost pleadingly. Ariel couldn't blame her for even a second, Ries would certainly be a more empathetic listener than her.

"Of course." Ries smiled, poured a cup of tea for herself as well, and sat down at the end of the table between Ariel and Irika. Ariel had a feeling of foreboding, and her body seemed to unwillingly mirror Irika's nervous restlessness.

Irika fidgeted in her seat for a moment before speaking. "I... remembered... things. I was dreaming before I woke up for the first time." Her voice was strained and she looked like she was going to be ill again.

"You don't have to tell us if it's too painful, Irika," Ariel said, relating with Irika's discomfort at drudging up things she didn't want to remember.

"No, I- I need to. I feel like my head is going to split if I don't," Irika replied, not sounding as convincing as before.

"Memories cannot hurt you no matter how bad they are. It can certainly be painful to the heart speaking them out, but that pain is also shared amongst everyone who hears them. It helps you to catalogue them, and it helps you to heal," Ries said in her usual, calm and convincing tone. She templed her fingers in front of her mouth and gazed out of the window thoughtfully. "Although, oftentimes doing that requires some mental preparation. Do you feel like you're ready to share with us?" She smiled at Irika.

Irika looked her in the eye, swallowed heavily and nodded. "I- I'm not very good at handling bad memories. I think that's why I had forgotten them up until now. I told my m-mother once about how little I remember of the time before she found me, and she told me 'things you don't remember are usually not worth remembering.'"

Ariel wondered about the meaning of 'before she found me', but decided to keep quiet and listen to everything Irika had to say.

Irika drew a deep, stabilizing breath and continued. "I think... I remember them now because I'm supposed to remember. Because I can handle them now. I've had a few days to mull them over, but... But... I'm scared."

Ariel couldn't stop herself. She reached across the table and laid her hand on top of Irika's. "We're here. We'll listen, no matter what," she said. How much of it was out of genuine concern and how much was regret for her previous behavior, she didn't care.

Ries smiled and nodded.

"Thank you." Irika looked down at Ariel's hand and nodded. "My... My mother was not my real mother." She began rapidly, but drew another long breath and slowed down. "My mother found me when I was ten or eleven years old. I was grievously injured because... I think my original mother tried to kill me."

Ariel's head flashed white with a spike of shock and anger, but she pushed down her reaction and focused on listening as the sorceress continued her story.

"I- I saw... flashes of memories. How I learned to use magic. Or rather, how magic just came to me one day. I didn't know what I was doing but I thought it was pretty, I think. My mother thought I was a monster."

Irika paused for a while and shivered. Ariel unclenched her fist and covered Irika's hand with her own again. Irika still didn't look up from her hands. "She hurt me, tortured me. I think she was afraid of me, but couldn't bear to commit murder. Then, I think she finally killed herself and tried to kill me as well. I remember being in p-pain, and suffocating. Then, something came loose and I was falling. But something tore me apart at the same time."

Irika touched her stomach where the huge scar around her body ended in a starburst pattern of violent memories. "I remember flashes... of my mother finding me and taking me somewhere. A healer, I think. I think my mother gave up her livelihood so that I could survive. I don't know why. I think she might have known about me and my original mother but wasn't able to do anything to help. Or didn't want to. I remember her apologizing to me."

Irika bit her lip and looked up at Ariel and Ries. "I was... I felt like I wasn't in my body back then. I felt like I was watching from above. I don't understand it but that's how I remember."

"Sometimes the mind does what it has to protect itself," Ries said thoughtfully. "I have not experienced it but I have heard of things like it."

"Me too," Ariel chimed in, a memory flashing through her mind. "Remember Sir Erwil, one of the knights I fought the gryphon with? He told me that he felt he was watching his entire recovering process from a chair next to his bed." Ariel rubbed her temple and mused for a moment. "He told me that it was like he were stuck in the chair, unable to get up, just looking at his unconscious self. Then, when he 'returned', he found that he couldn't walk anymore."

Ariel hadn't believed her compatriot's story back then, but she believed it now. Irika's story and Ries' confirmation were convincing enough.

Irika nodded, let out a long breath, then drew another. "Eventually I felt like my body was my own again, but I couldn't feel much of anything. The healer was amazed that I had lived. My mother... she taught me so much when I was bedridden. She gave me my name. I have no idea what my name was before I was Irika. I just feel like I've always been Irika."

Ariel's heart ached as she saw tears roll down Irika's cheeks. The things that this girl had been through in so few years were almost too sorrowful to bear, and Ariel felt the unfamiliar stinging sensation in her eyes again.

"I barely have any actual memories about being taught anything, but I still remember how to read and write, and I remember the dozens of stories she read to me. She helped me heal. She taught me how to talk and walk again. I miss her so much." Irika's voice cracked as she pushed her face into her hands.

Ariel stood up so fast her chair clattered onto the floor behind her. She rounded the table, kneeled next to Irika and hugged her. She didn't bother trying to stop her own tears anymore. She just wanted to be there to comfort Irika, comfort this brave girl who had been treated so unfairly by life, but who still survived. This admirable young woman who faced adversity as valorously as any knight, but bore none of the arrogance or rewards of one. Ariel felt more resolute than ever to protect Irika, the State contract at Erwayn and the King of Stenning be damned. Wherever and whenever their respective journeys might end, she felt that she had so much to learn from this young sorceress in compassion and bravery, and so much to give to her in return. Give to her things that she never had but always deserved.

Ries' warmness joined the embrace as she whispered to the both of them. "With sharing comes understanding, and with understanding comes acceptance. I'm not the type to say that everything happens for a reason, but I do believe that you can make the best out of most things that happen in life." The kind, motherly woman gently caressed both of their hair with her hands. Ariel felt like a little girl in her embrace, and saw Irika clutch onto the old healer's clothes as she sobbed softly.

"From what the two of you have told me, through all of your hardships you have found something wonderful in each other. What that means to you now and what it will mean to you in time may change, but as long as you give each other the courtesy of openness and understanding, it will only change for the better." Ries smiled at them, and Ariel felt something stir within her heart besides the sorrow she felt for her companion. She had very little recollection of her own mother's affection, but felt like Ries was giving her something familiar and something important to attach to those sparse memories.

After a long moment Ariel separated from the other women, stood up, and wiped her eyes. Irika was still within Ries' hug, sniffling softly. She patted Irika’s back gently and addressed the elderly woman. "I'm very grateful for your hospitality and care. As a Landsknecht of the Mercenary State, I have enough authority to provide you with whatever you may want for your comfort at my expense, and I will." Ariel stood in attention and brought her arm to her chest, giving Ries the official salute. She then relaxed and smiled at the woman from the bottom of her heart. "And as just Ariel, I know what your stance is on repayments. I promise to write you every time I can. You've given us so much."

Ariel hesitated for a moment, but found that her mind was already long since made. She kneeled back down next to Irika and ruffled her hair. She felt a great pang of affection as Irika's teary face turned towards her. "I had a mission before coming here. But right now, thanks to everything that's happened in the past few weeks, I've decided to just go where the wind takes me for the first time in my life. And I would like nothing more than to have you there with me, Irika."

Irika sniffed and hiccoughed once, then smiled and nodded. Ariel felt elated and renewed. She had let her pride and ego lead her life so far, but the appearance of Irika in her life had made her think of so many things that she had never thought of before.

Had she ever stopped to think about how lucky her life so far had been, despite its inconveniences? Had she ever capitulated on her fortune in a meaningful way, rather than just spending her spare time drinking and fighting? Had she ever gone to any place just to see it, just to take it in and enjoy it for what it was, rather than out of duty and contract? Had she ever thought to appreciate the beauty of the sea or the sky, rather than considering them an irrelevant backdrop of travel? Had she ever read a storybook or a rousing fable, rather than a scroll of law or a map?

Everything in her life had been for the contract, for the mission. Even traveling had only left an impression in her mind in the shape of routes, maps and strategies. Most of the stories she had to tell usually involved someone getting hurt. And now, she realized that she had all the time in the world to rectify all of that, and a person she wanted to share with.

"Want to leave tomorrow?" she asked Irika. Previously she would've just told her that they're leaving tomorrow, like giving a command to a soldier. She'd almost said it this time too, but it was that tiny stumble of consideration that made her feel like she was finally growing as a person again.

"Yes." Irika said thickly and sniffed. "I love this place but I want to go. Brunn still feels too close, and... I don't want this place to become an excuse for me to not move on." Irika said and turned back to Ries.

Ries smiled. "I understand. You're welcome back anytime."

"I swear I'll write too. You'll get double the letters every time we get to a village that carries post," Irika sniffed again, but smiled widely at Ries.

"I will definitely look forward to that!" the elderly woman said and chuckled heartily. She patted Irika on the head and Ariel on the arm, and started cleaning up their tea mugs.

Ariel held her hand out to Irika, who took it and lifted herself up from her chair. Ariel gave her hand a quick soft squeeze and smiled. "Better pack up then. Should we take the horse, too?"

"We should, if she wants to come," Irika replied and smiled at Ariel's incredulous expression. "I think she's way smarter than you give her credit for!" she added.

"I quite agree!" came Ries' voice from the kitchen. "Just yesterday I saw the horse open the duck corral gate with its teeth to get to the tall grass on the inside edges. And that's not all, it pulled the gate back shut behind it so that the ducks wouldn't escape!" She chuckled amidst the clanking of cups. "If I hadn't seen it I certainly wouldn't believe it. That's one clever mare you've got there."

Irika smiled at Ariel victoriously. "See?"

Ariel rubbed her temple and scrunched her face in mock anguish. "I suppose if we really have to... But no, it'll be extremely useful to have it... her with us. Especially if she really is as smart as you say." She grimaced for real this time. "I really do feel bad about stealing her, though. Not exactly the most knightly thing to do."

Irika shrugged. "Well, she's basically smart enough to be a person, and people get to decide for themselves were they want to go. Wanna go ask her?"

Ariel was caught off guard by the lighthearted joke, but recovered quickly. "Sure! Grab some cash for bribery though, might as well commit a few more crimes while we're at it."

Irika sniffed and giggled. "Cash? Not carrots?"

"Hey, you're the one who said she was almost a person! Which one would _you_ rather take?" Ariel jabbed back.

"If we're about to go on a journey I'd take the carrots," Irika replied immediately. "You can't eat money on the road, but you can always earn more of it once you get to a city."

Ariel found herself momentarily stunned again. She just couldn't seem to stop underestimating the the quickness of this girl's wit. "Fair point. Grab the carrots and let's go a'bribing!"

Ries' soft chuckling interrupted their skit. "It's exactly like I said before. Sometimes you just know two people are meant for each other." The almost impish twinkle was in her eyes again as she smiled at the pair.

Ariel grinned at Irika, who looked nonplussed and was slowly blushing. Seeing Irika's reaction made heat start to rise up Ariel's neck as well, but she shook it off with a declaration. "Off we go then! Well, to pack anyways. And I still have a fence to finish fixing."

She gave Irika's shoulder a quick pat and strode out of the door, before her brain had the time to start thinking strange things.


	10. The Farewells and the Fugitives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Partings and meetings! Where will the road lead? Hopefully nowhere scary...

 

_New Winds_

 

The final night at Ries and Ferdinand’s farmstead was significantly more pleasant and light-hearted than the ones before. Ferdinand joined dinner accompanied by a small, roughly whittled wooden bear on a small pedestal, seemingly extremely pleased at his work. He was loudly boasting about it to his wife. The maid Mathilde and the farmhand Boren had joined them as well, though they spent most of dinnertime laughing at each other’s jokes and being fully oblivious of everyone else at the table.

“His horns must’ve been five or six hands long, and he was butting and swinging wildly, trying to impale me!” Boren recounted to Mathilde his thrilling tale about taming a humongous bull. “But I grabbed him by his horns, I wrested him down and I got him to submit. He fell over onto his side and acknowledged me as stronger.” Boren flexed his biceps to Mathilde for impact.

“You’re stronger than a bull! That’s so amazing!” Mathilde tittered, batting her long eyelashes at Boren.

Irika snorted but managed to turn it into a cough. She turned towards Ariel and covered her mouth with her hand, trying not to crack again. Ariel was looking straight at her with her knuckles in her mouth, biting down on them to try to stop herself from laughing. The sight of each other made them both fail spectacularly.

Boren turned to them in oblivious amusement. “What’s the joke? Tell us, too!”

Despite the occasional dull squeeze of her heart, Irika felt wonderful laughing at this peaceful scene. She also felt like she knew why the maid and the farmhand had found their place here. Besides their obvious mutual attraction, surely they too could feel the warmth of a noisy, happy family that now filled Irika’s heart.

Ries was half-listening to her husband’s artistic visions and contently smiling at the ruckus around the table. The old healer had said that she preferred for youth to find their own path instead of locking themselves down, but surely she too missed the hustle and bustle of an active farmstead. The motherly care she showed all of her wards proved that much. Irika felt glad that the kooky servant couple and all of the energetic animals were there to keep company for Ries and her husband.

Irika had been content growing up with only her mother, but had often stolen glances into the homes of large families, wondering what it would feel like to eat and laugh around a big table. The feeling was more wonderful than she had ever imagined, but it also made her feel very wistful for having to leave it behind.

Ariel seemed to have noticed the change in Irika’s expression. “Having second thoughts?” she whispered, turning away from Ferdinand’s tale about how all of their previous farmhands had once worked together to build a giant cow out of hay bales.

“No… Yeah. Just a little,” Irika admitted, looking down at her knees. Staying here would definitely be a solid option after all, but what she had said before also held true. She still felt too close to Brunn here, too close to everything she had lost. She wanted to force herself to move on and see more, to experience more. And honestly, the thought of traveling the land intrigued her greatly on a level that surpassed the comfortable concepts of safety and security. Surely it wouldn't be as grandiose as all the legends and tales would make it out to be, but adventure certainly wouldn't come to you without seeking it out.

“But I’d rather see other places, I think. No, I know. I’ve been in Brunn for my entire life and never even thought of a reason or an excuse to leave. Now… I don’t have any more reasons or excuses to stay.” Irika looked back up at Ariel and noticed everyone else staring at her, too. She had unconsciously answered Ariel aloud instead of whispering. She felt a blush coming in, but Boren out of everyone spoke to her in his sonorous tone.

“If that’s how you feel, then I say travel!” He seemed to deflate slightly at Irika’s confused stare. “What I mean is… I don’t know you very well, but you seem to have gone through some kind of a heavy trauma recently. And in my experience, a change of pace and some fresh winds blowing around you are the best ways to take your mind off things, and perhaps find yourself a better future while you’re at it!” He winked at Mathilde theatrically. Mathilde giggled and blushed.

Irika was half amused and half irritated about Boren showing off at her expense, but what he had said also made a lot of sense to her. If she stayed here and let Ariel leave without her, there was no question that she would regret the missed chance later. “Thanks, Boren. You’re right,” she said and turned to Ariel. “No more second thoughts. If you’re okay with it… I’d like to travel with you until I find something I want to do. Or somewhere I want to be.”

Irika pondered for another moment and addressed Ries. “It could be here, but I just feel like I’d be settling to dwell in the past in the first safe and secure place that I came across.” She looked down again, unable to keep her voice from trembling slightly. “Honestly, I can well see myself returning to this place if everywhere else rejects me. But I’d like to at least see the world a little, if only to distract myself from the bad memories. Maybe I'll manage to collect some stories to tell you along the way if I ever return.”

Ries and Ferdinand looked at each other and chuckled. “That is almost exactly what our daughter told us before she left,” Ferdinand said.

“'I feel safe here. Maybe a bit too safe. I want to see the colors of the road and the colors of excitement and danger. And maybe once I’ve found them, I can return and paint the world for you',” Ries recounted her daughter’s words and took her husband’s hand in her own.

“We wish you all the good things in your travels,” Ferdinand said to Irika and Ariel both.

“To new beginnings!” Boren’s pompous voice called to them all, as he raised his goblet high.

“To adventures yet unseen and stories yet untold!” Ariel joined him and raised her own, grinning. Everyone followed suit and toasted to Irika's decision.

It made her feel slightly embarrassed, but also a bit elated. For the first time in her life Irika felt like she had some kind of a direction and some kind of half-hearted purpose, even if it was only to find new interesting things to cover up the painful ones. She felt sick and tired of being sick and tired. It hurt to think that she was going to use her mother's death as an excuse to abandon all of her past, but then again she couldn't imagine her mother wanting Irika to inwardly live those dismal days forever and slowly rot in her wake.

' _I've never cared for this life, ever. I wanted you to have better.'_ Her mother's words echoed in her mind. Irika certainly didn't want to keep drowning in her loss. She would find things and do things that would've made her mother proud.

She turned to Ariel, who had been quietly staring at her for a while. “So is it alright that I come with you?” she asked, still unable to find complete confidence in the knight, or rather, in the relationship between the two of them. Irika had no clue why Ariel wanted her for a traveling companion, and she certainly didn't want to break whatever spell had brought the knight to that decision. Irika had absolutely no ide where she would go from here after all.

Ariel smiled and lightly punched her in the arm. “Of course, dolt. That's what I already arrogantly assumed you'd do.” She frowned and glanced away. “I'll be counting on you to slap me every time I behave like a drill commander along the way. You have like ten times the empathy that I do." She sighed, but smiled. "I really do need to learn how to distance myself from being a soldier, and not just for my own sake.”

“Consider it done,” Irika said and returned the smile. Whatever Ariel's reasons for wanting to travel with her were, Irika was more than happy to oblige. Few people would have qualms about having one of the most skilled fighters in the world for a traveling partner. With their plans set, Irika couldn't help but feel a queer sense of victory over something that she didn't even understand herself.

 

* * *

 

Irika was all but ready to travel very early the next morning. She took a quick bath in the heated pail behind the guesthouse, pulled on her freshly laundered clothes, and went back to her room to double-check that she didn't leave anything. Not that there was much to check; she had basically no belongings to pack. She had left what little traveling equipment she'd had back in the guardhouse in Brunn.

She gave her resting room a long last look, stopping to admire the apple tree painted by Ries' daughter. The vibrant colors urged her to go and paint her own future.

“ _It feels like I lost and gained so much in this room,”_ she thought, despite knowing that the room itself had nothing to do with it. Thanks to Ries and Ariel's encouragements, she'd accepted the constant dull ache in her heart as a necessary part of healing. ' _The best way to honor the dead is to live and remember.'_ The blunt sentiment had sounded cruelly militant when Ariel had said it days ago, but Irika found herself quietly agreeing with the knight since she'd had time to scream, mourn and think.

As she finally stepped outside, Irika saw Ferdinand and Ries bustling around the mare that had brought Irika and Ariel to their farmstead, the overtly excitable dog running circles around them. Muted clanking was issuing from Ariel's room.

“Good morning!” Irika called out and waved at the elderly couple.

“Morning!” they echoed and smiled at her.

“She'll be ready to go in a moment!” Ferdinand added and turned back to buckle a large saddle set onto the horse's back. Irika watched them work to make the horse travel-ready for a moment, then turned to investigate the clanking and shuffling going on in the knight's room. She knocked on the doorframe and waited for an answer, not wanting to barge in on something private like Ariel had done to her before.

“Yeah, come on in!” Ariel called from amidst the clanking. Irika peeked inside and saw her half-dressed in her usual knight's garb, all the metallic armor pieces still waiting for their turn on the floor.

“Good timing, could you help me put these on? I can manage with one arm but three arms would be like, three times as good,” she said as she fiddled with one of the straps on one of her leather legguards.

“Of course! But I have no idea how to put on armor.” Irika walked closer to Ariel and eyed the pieces of plate uncertainly.

“No worries, I'll show you. Just lemme put this on and fasten the leathers and then we'll get to the plates.” Ariel lifted her leather vest from her bed and slid her head through the neckhole. Unlike the undershirt the knight was wearing, the vest seemed stiff and unyielding, and had leather straps and buckles on either side for fastening.

“Actually now that you're here, would you mind fastening this side for me? We'll be done in no time if I don't have to fumble with it myself.” Ariel turned her left side to Irika and displayed the leather straps on her vest. They looked like miniature belts, so Irika doubted she'd have much trouble helping out with them. She grabbed the strap and the buckle and stretched them together.

“Hold on, the vest's a bit off on that side. Just push the back and the front together and they should set,” Ariel said, fumbling with the buckle on her right side. Irika had briefly wondered how uncomfortable it must be for a woman to wear tight leather and plate, but on closer inspection noticed that Ariel's chestpiece seemed to be molded specifically for the contours of her body.

“Was your armor custom made for you?” Irika asked her as she finished tightening the straps on her side of the vest.

“Yep. What, did you think you could just find hardened leather in my size from a regular clothes shop?” Ariel replied and grinned at Irika.

“As far as I've heard, Capital City has everything. There must be a shop for giants. Ow!” Irika rubbed her forehead in the spot where Ariel had poked it.

“Aren't we snarky today!” The knight was still grinning widely. “But yes, it's all custom made. I think I told you before, but my childhood home was a smithy, so I knew exactly what I wanted and how to make it.” Her grin faltered into a sigh. “Thing is, I always was a really crappy smith and couldn't mold leather to save my life. My hands just are not meant for precision work, even back when I had both of 'em. Thankfully, I made good friends with a very skilled smith back in Capital City, I described what I needed to him and he made them for me. This was after the gryphon incident though, before that I just wore a slightly modified standard full plate.”

Ariel pointed at her half-plate chestpiece on the floor. “The chestplate is actually entirely nonstandard. Most knights wear full plate with detachable sleeves, but I needed something lighter and more mobile that doesn't leave the armpit completely uncovered without the sleeve.” She picked up the half-plate from the floor and pointed out the curved protuberance under the armhole to Irika. “See this here? This protects my arm from strikes that hit my side and travel upwards. The shoulder guard protects it from strikes that come from above. I really have to keep my last remaining appendage safe, you know?” She handed the plate over for Irika to get a closer look.

Irika nodded. Having lost one arm would certainly make one careful about losing the other one as well. She ran her hands across the small linked plates of Ariel's detachable shoulder guard and flexed it up and down. It moved remarkably smoothly for a collection of metal.

“That was my design. It was a hassle to make but it helps preserve the full range of motion in my sword arm. And I need all of it to prevent losing it,” Ariel said, finishing the fastenings on her leather legguards with a grunt. “Because in the end I opted not to have any guard on my arm at all. Even a bracer can be more of a hindrance than help if I can't adjust it when it slips.” Ariel turned her wrist awkwardly towards her own forearm. “And besides, how the heck would I attach a bracer onto my arm with just one hand anyways? Attaching and detaching the shoulder guard while I'm wearing the chestplate is hard enough!” She chuckled and prepared the half-plate to be equipped.

Putting on the rest of Ariel's armor didn't take much time with two people. Irika was astounded that Ariel could do all of it by herself if required, although many clever little adjustments in her custom-made armor made it clear just how much thought had been put into crafting them. Most of the fastenings on every piece of armor were on the right side, so that she could easily reach them with just one hand. Each piece had leather links in strategic spots that Ariel could use for support to tighten the fit if it was loose. Even the shoulder cape could easily be pulled onto her shoulder with just a quick twist, a pull and a click.

“The hardest and most expensive part by far in making all of this was the clasp for the greatsword.” Ariel turned around to show the back part of her armor to Irika. A rigid mechanism of steel was attached to the right side of the half plate's neckguard, suspending two steel loops with two intricate clasps that hung down slightly different heights on Ariel's back. “My smith buddy really came through with this one. And I had to pay him most of my savings for it.” Ariel frowned, but then grinned again. She picked up her giant blade and brought it to her back. “You know how heavy my sword is, so it needs a really durable setup.”

The sword slid through the clasps edge-on and clicked into place, holding the blade steady diagonally across Ariel's back. “And if I need to sit with the blade, like on horseback, I can do this.” She grabbed the handle of the sword and pushed it downwards. The clasps shifted and separated to hold the blade sideways on the her upper back, and a third clasp Irika hadn't noticed before clicked into place under the other side of the neckguard, next to the cape. “I'm always worrying when the third clasp will fail and let the sword fall down edge first onto the poor horse's back... That's why I haven't really ridden a lot with my blade strapped on.” Ariel pulled her sword back into its regular position and fastened her other two blades onto her belt.

Irika was flabbergasted at the quality of design and craftsmanship of Ariel's armor and accessories. The knight had said that smarts aren't her forte, but all of this screamed ingenuity. “All of this is so amazing, I've never seen craftsmanship even close to this,” Irika said, still staring at Ariel's massive greatsword sitting steadily on her back even as she shifted and swayed.

“Yeah. Capital City really is the place to go if you want arms and armor design of the highest quality.” Ariel rubbed her neck and smiled an uncharacteristically bashful smile. “And besides, I've had weapons and stuff on the brain since I was a kid. Turned out I wasn't good at making them, but at least my imagination is still useful in the hands of a truly skilled smith.” She frowned again. “Smith that bled me dry. Not that I regret any of it, but all of the things I'm wearing right now are actually the reason why I didn't have much money left leaving the State.”

Irika had wondered why a highly esteemed Landsknecht was traveling without a horse and carriage filled with all the equipment she could possibly need on a several hundred mile trek. “What about the swords? Did your smith friend make them as well?” she asked. Ariel had told her the swords were a secret before, but she felt slightly hopeful that their current relationship might shed some light into the mysterious blades.

“Mmm... Yes and no. I mostly made the swords myself. That's a much longer story though, I think it's better left for the road,” Ariel said, but smiled to indicate that Irika's query hadn't been unwelcome. She fastened the rest of her pouches and bags, took one last sweeping look at the room, and beckoned Irika to follow her outside. Ries and Ferdinand were now standing next to the newly saddled horse, waiting for the two women.

“Wow, you saddled her for us! And we even have saddlebags!” Ariel exclaimed as she walked closer to admire the horse's new equipment.

“You sure do! We had a bunch of things left over from when we used to have horses, so don't worry about taking them with,” Ferdinand said and patted the horse's neck.

“These will help so much, thank you!” Ariel said and bent down to give a courteous kiss on Ferdinand's cheek. She repeated the gesture with Ries, and turned back to the horse to admire the gear. “A saddle for two!” She turned back and grinned at Irika, but was distracted by the dog trying to leap up and lick her face.

Irika blushed in spite of herself, and was glad Ariel's attention was drawn away from her. She'd found herself flustered by the strangest things lately, and couldn't form any sort of sensible response to Ariel's statement. Ries' sly wink at Irika made her stomach squeeze oddly.

“I would recommend against riding duo for long periods of time, though. Your mare seems well exercised and fit, but that much weight will bear down on its spine in the long run.” Ferdinand glanced at Ariel. “You and your armor... Well, this is rude of me to say to a lady, but you _are_ fairly large.”

“ _Fairly large?_ I'm huge!” Ariel laughed heartily. “Do I seem like the kind of person who'd get offended about being told the obvious truth?” She slapped Ferdinand's back hard enough to make the man stumble slightly. “And I know. Coming here was an emergency, and I feel really bad about pushing her so hard.” She petted the horse tentatively. This time it didn't seem adverse to her touch. Ariel let out a small, relieved sigh. “I have just about the endurance of a horse anyway, so I'm more than fine with walking. Having her just for our luggage is invaluable enough. Thank you for the saddlebags too.”

“Speaking of luggage...” Ries said and approached Irika with a shoulder bag and a smaller belt pack. “Here you go. Something for your travels.”

Irika opened the shoulder bag first. Inside were several changes of underclothes, traveling rations, a flask of water and a length of rope and various other pieces of traveling equipment. The smaller belt pack revealed a new set of flint and tinder, a small mortar and a pestle, and other useful trinkets for the road.

“We also put some rations and towels and other useful things in the saddlebags. Unfortunately we didn't have any clothing that would fit you, Ariel.” Ries smiled at Ariel who grinned back. “They're all things that we have had lying around without use for years if not decades, so take them with you, please,” the elderly woman finished.

A lump rose to Irika's throat again as she stepped forward to hug Ries tightly. “I will never forget you. I will write, and I will be back eventually,” she sniffed. Ries patted her back and let go after a while. “And thank you so much too. Having a bath and clean clothes means more to me than you could imagine,” she added to Mathilde, who had come with Boren to send them off.

Mathilde smiled and gave Irika a curtsey. “It is my job, and it has been my pleasure to be of use!” she replied.

“Has been an honor working with an honest-to-goodness knight!” Boren said to Ariel with his usual, pompous tone and shook her hand. “Honestly I'm a little jealous! I'm not too lacking for strength myself, but you're just... _strong_.” For once, Boren's eloquence failed him as he stared at Ariel's muscular arm. Ariel flexed it for him and Mathilde to admire.

“Thanks! And you're not bad yourself, I saw you handling that wrecking hammer like a twig. You're still young, keep doing that and you'll be a beast by the time you're my age.” Ariel grinned and patted Boren on the shoulder. They couldn't have been too many years apart in age, but Ariel seemed to enjoy playing the wise older sister role to anyone who was younger than her. Irika giggled at the thought, remembering how the knight had clutched onto Ries like a child the previous night.

“You're talking as if you were ancient but you're actually quite the baby,” she said and elbowed Ariel in the side.

“Ouch. I guess my mind still has to catch up to my amazing body!” Ariel jested and flexed again.

Everybody, Irika included, seemed eager to extend the farewell for as long as they could, but eventually Ferdinand slapped his hands together. “If you don't leave now we're going to kick you out. _Manually._ ” He laughed raucously after his jab, took the reins of the horse and started walking it towards the main gate. Irika and Ariel followed suit, waving back at Ries and the servant couple. The peppy dog had settled next to Ries, barking and wagging its tail happily.

“I'm going to miss this place,” Irika said quietly, affection stuck in her throat.

“Me too, kiddo,” Ariel said about as wistfully.

They walked in silence until they reached the main gate. Ferdinand handed the reins over to Ariel. “You should be set until Hilders, even at walking pace. Take care on the road. And take care of each other.” He tipped the rim of his straw hat and nodded.

Ariel and Irika both nodded mutely and turned to the road. Irika felt sad. She was leaving the one place in her life where she had felt truly safe and happy. But it was up to her to find more places like that from now on.

She turned to Ariel. “Let's go, then.”

Ariel glanced at her. “Yup.”

An arrow whizzed past between their heads and hit the ground a couple yards over.

 

 

_Adventure?_

 

Ariel immediately stepped in front of Irika and clutched the handle of her blade, turning towards the direction from which the arrow had flown. Four people were riding towards them, three in heavy armor and one wearing a long traveling cloak over leather. She recognized two of the armored knights instantly.

“State mercs. Stay behind me,” she said to Irika and let her hand fall from the sword's handle and hailed at the new arrivals instead. “Hail, Tolmann! What brings you here?” she asked the new arrivals cheerily, although she already knew the answer. The arrow hadn't been a missed shot, it had been a warning. Fleeing would mean acknowledging guilt, and Ariel had a good hunch of what this was about. Their best bet for now was to speak to the knights and try to figure things out without a fight. But if it came to blows, Ariel was ready to at least defend Irika's life no matter what.

“I think you know, old friend,” the knight called Tolmann pulled his horse to a halt and dismounted along with the other arrivals. The cloaked archer stayed mounted slightly further back. Sir Tolmann was about the same age and only slightly shorter than Ariel, but broader in stature. He had shaved his head fully bald since Ariel had last seen him, but still had the thick black moustache that was his trademark. They had enrolled as initiates around the same time, made Landsknecht around the same time, and been good friends throughout their careers.

“We have been contracted by the Brunn Council to apprehend the deviant who attacked the city, and to bring you into questioning, Sir Ariel,” Tolmann said somberly. “You know it brings me no joy to do this. I will personally vouch for your honor, and I know Sir Laincars will too.” The knight on Tolmann's left nodded. Ariel smiled and inclined her head at the both of them. “As long as you come quietly and give us the girl, you will most likely be acquitted of all charges. The Brunn guardsmen already testified that you could have killed all of them, but chose not to.” Tolmann nodded to Ariel respectfully. “The girl, however, is under suspicion for severely injuring several guards, as well as an ongoing investigation as to whether or not the orc attack on Brunn was orchestrated by her. The council has all but decided her guilty.”

Irika whimpered quietly behind Ariel.

“Well, then we have a problem,” Ariel said sternly. “I was there with her the entire way. We spotted the orcs together, and without her magic and sixth sense they would have razed the lower class part of Brunn without resistance.” She couldn't hold back the anger in her voice as she remembered the guard captain's accusations. “I was the one who alerted the guards in the first place, and Irika was the one who slaughtered several dozen of the orcs and halted their assault. The guard captain we spoke to didn't want my testimony, and I cannot fathom the Brunn council will either.” She stood her ground in front of Irika without moving.

Sir Tolmann sighed. He took a few steps closer to Ariel. “Then, I am afraid we will have to apprehend the both of you with force.” He reached for the shortsword that hung on his belt.

Ariel noticed the nigh-imperceptible nod Sir Tolmann gave her. She punched the knight right in the jaw, took a dashing step towards Sir Laincars, and kicked him hard in the chest before he could unsheathe his weapon. The third knight she didn't know the name of managed to draw his sword, but Ariel was quicker. She swiftly unsheathed her own broadsword and struck the blade out of his hand. An arrow ricocheted hard off the throat guard that was covered by her hair, sending harsh vibrations all the way to her teeth.

She turned to the fourth pursuer and growled, but before the archer could nock a second arrow, an arc of lightning issued from behind Ariel and struck the cloaked man in a cascade of sparks. He toppled off his horse, which reared and started galloping away along the road back towards Brunn. The other three horses that belonged to the knights were spooked by the crackle and followed suit.

“Nice one!” Ariel shouted, not looking at Irika and instead punching the disarmed knight in the mouth. He fell onto the ground limply and lay still. Sir Laincars was still stirring on the ground, so Ariel walked up to him and kicked him in the head, hard enough to knock him out but not too hard to cause damage.

“A-Are-Are you sure this is alright?!” Irika asked, her voice high and tense with astonishment and fear.

“Nothing else we could've done,” Ariel said and made towards the archer. He was laying still on the ground, but his chest was rising and falling slowly, and he didn't seem to have any grievous injuries. “Knocked out. Good job!” she called back to Irika. She noticed movement in the corner of her eye and whirled around to face the large wooden gate of Ries and Ferdinand's farmstead. Ferdinand was standing half-hidden behind a gatepost, peeking at the scuffle.

Ariel jogged up to him. “Take care of them, please,” she said to the old farmer, who flinched a little at her approach. “If they think that you were an instrument to our escape, they will have to apprehend you too. Tell them you don't know us and if you can, try to stall them. But please don't risk yourselves for us.”

Ferdinand looked slightly horrified, but nodded. “We will do our best. Why are there State knights after you? Aren't you one yourself?”

Ariel groaned and flipped her hair out of her face. “Huge, annoying misunderstanding that will cost Irika her life if we return with them. I assure you she's not only innocent, but responsible for saving hundreds of lives.” She had only told Ries and Ferdinand the general gist of what had happened to them back in Brunn.

Ferdinand nodded, looking less uncomfortable. “I believe you. You've shown yourself to be nothing if not honorable and true during your stay here,” he said and nodded again.

“Thank you, Ferdinand. We will be fine as long as Tolmann is the one heading the search party, especially since their horses fled. We'll reach Hilders and seek asylum well before they reach us.” Ariel saluted the old farmer with her arm across her chest. “We must leave now. Please be well,” she said and turned back to Irika without waiting for Ferdinand's reply.

Irika was clutching herself and still cowering slightly next to their pack horse, who had only retreated a couple of yards and seemed to be surveying the scene of the scuffle with mild interest.

“Let's go. We'll ride halfway to Hilders, and walk the rest to save the horse's strength,” Ariel said and leapt up into the saddle with hardly any effort. She extended her hand to Irika in a profound moment of déjà vu, and pulled up to sit in front of her.

“What about the knights?” Irika asked and handed the reins to Ariel over her head.

“Ries and Ferdinand will take care of them, and hopefully stall them a little. I told them to pretend they don't know us so that they won't get in trouble,” she replied and whipped the horse into a canter.

Irika sighed in relief. “Good. If they were blamed for my mistakes I wouldn't be able to live with myself," she said and shivered slightly against Ariel's chest.

“You've made no mistakes whatsoever,” Ariel said to her sternly, although it would probably take some time yet to convince the sorceress of that.

 

* * *

 

After about an hour of riding in silence, Ariel pulled the horse to a stop and let Irika down before dismounting herself. She pulled a skin of water and a bag of oats from one of the saddlebags, and laid them out for their steed to feed on.

“Where are we now?” Irika asked, looking around. After the last small town they'd passed, farmland had given way to a sparse beech forest now surrounding them on all sides.

“We've made decent pace. I'd estimate we're about halfway between the farmstead and the city of Hilders,” Ariel said, searching her waist pack for the knight's crest she didn't usually wear. “We'll soon be hitting the main trade route between Hilders and the large cities in the west, including Erwayn and Esel. I suspect from here on out we'll be seeing more guard activity on these roads.” She attached the black-ribboned crest onto her cape clasp and frowned down at it.

The black ribbon was the mark of a retired knight, but to Ariel it felt like an unforgivable insult. She wasn't anywhere ready to retire, yet she had had to turn in her prestigious red ribbon, when the General King had personally come to see the injured knights after the gryphon campaign. She would wear it now, though, for wearing a knight's crest of any kind was the quickest way to avoid pointless interruptions and questionings from the guards on the way.

Ariel caught Irika staring at the ribbon as well, but the sorceress quickly glanced away when their eyes met for a moment. “More guards? Are we heading somewhere dangerous, then?” she asked and turned back to Ariel.

Ariel smiled at her companion's politeness in not asking about her crest. Clever as Irika was, she must've learned everything she needed to know back on their way to Brunn, and in the Brunn guardhouse. “We're still a good eighty miles away from the border I think, but orcs tend to be a problem this far north,” she replied, digging her memory for more information on this area. “I'm pretty sure the entire northern guard is mixed Stenning guard and Cuan guard, and they help each other defend the areas around the border. It's not like they have to worry about any international disputes in these peaceful times, so they just rely on one another for keeping both sides of the border safe.”

The horse had finished feeding, so Ariel picked up the water bowl and the empty hemp bag into the saddlebag, and motioned for Irika to walk at her side. “And I believe there are some State mercenaries working around Hilders as well. I've never traveled these roads myself though, only the direct route between Erwayn and Cuanheim that runs much further east.” Ariel noticed Irika fidgeting nervously at the mention of mercs. “Are you worried about our pursuers?” she asked.

“A little bit. What if they find us again? Shouldn't we ride further?” The sorceress' face was shaded with worry.

“I expect they're not even conscious yet. And lacking their horses, we'll likely be in Hilders before they finish up drawing their plan of approach. Us Mercenary Knights generally tend to prefer strategy to headlessly chasing our prey.” Ariel pondered for a moment. Sir Tolmann had subtly but definitively given Ariel the initiative. How much could she read into the actions of her old friend? They had spent many hours criticizing the values of various kinds of contracts in the past. Would he value this one more than his friend's word? “I suspect Sir Tolmann is on our side. Or mine, at least,” Ariel concluded, deciding that the odds were in her favor.

“How come? He was going to attack you!” Irika wondered, scrunching her brow like she always did when she disagreed with something.

Ariel smiled wryly. “He gave me the opportunity to knock him down first. Landsknecht are trained better than that, and we've been friends for over a decade, besides. He knows my brawn-over-brains style and would never have come that close to me before threatening to capture me," she replied.

“I- I see,” Irika said tersely, falling into her own thoughts.

An idea occurred to Ariel as she considered Tolmann's contract and Irika's position in it. She unfastened the shortsword on her belt and held it out to Irika. “Here. You should have a weapon at hand, just in case.” Irika gaped at her. Ariel chuckled and explained further. “You had a good shot at the archer before. But Tolmann and Laincars are both fairly adept in magic themselves, and I wouldn't be surprised if they had a much better resistance against yours.”

Irika closed her mouth and nodded at Ariel. She grabbed the sheathed blade from her hands and looked down at it reverently. “I see your point. But, I can't use a sword at all.”

“Well then, I'll just have to train you, don't I?” The knight snickered again at Irika's alarmed expression. “Don't worry, not like I'd train a knight in the State. I'll teach you the extremely efficient basics. Enough to let you hold your own against a brainless orc, or a knight who underestimates you and gets caught off-guard.”

Irika nodded again. She carefully fastened the sword's sheath onto her belt loop. “Ah!” Something seemed to have occurred to her as well, as she started rummaging around in her small belt pouch.

“Here,” she said, holding out something to Ariel. She dropped a small brass ring onto Ariel's hand.

“Isn't this... your mother's?” Ariel said in a jolt of recognition. It was the same ring she had wrested from the thieving jailer's hand. She turned the ring around in her fingers. It was not very skillfully crafted, and didn't have any adornments that would've set it apart from other forgettable trinkets. Then again, maybe that was the entire point for a piece of jewelry that was secretly magical.

“Yes... I had no idea it was enchanted before I shocked you back in Brunn. Though it does make a lot of sense, seeing as I've accidentally shocked my mother several times whenever I got angry or frustrated. She never did seem to mind it much.” Irika's eyes fell into a sadness that was familiar to Ariel by now. Her heart ached for Irika like it had done many times in the past few days. “But I reckon you would have better use for it than me. I'm apparently immune to my own type of magic anyway.” She shot Ariel a not-quite convincing grin. “Besides, I can shoot lightning however much I want if I don't have to worry about shocking you!”

Ariel smiled at Irika's attempt at a light-hearted joke. The sorceress seemed to be getting slightly better every day, but Ariel knew intimately that the loss of a loved one wouldn't fade any time soon. “Thank you," she said and attempted to put the ring onto her ring finger. "Ah. Seems like it'll only fit my pinky. Mind giving me a hand with it?” Ariel said, bending her fingers awkwardly around the ring.

“Sure, here.” Irika took Ariel's hand and pushed the ring onto her little finger. Ariel's heart gave another throb, but this time she didn't feel like it was out of empathy.


	11. The Bounty and the Beasts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What do you do when you're new in town and need money? Go farm critters, of course!

 

_Job Opportunity_

 

It was past midday when the colorful walls of the city of Hilders rose into sight from within the woods, after a nervous but largely uneventful trip. Some ways along the road Irika had realized the meaning behind Ariel’s equipping of her crest; the first guard patrol had passed them by, merely saluting the Landsknecht briefly.

They had passed some other Hilders-bound merchants on the road, their wagons and carriages under inspection from the patrolling guards. Apparently the city took safety very seriously, and if these lands truly were plagued with orcs like Ariel had said, Irika didn’t blame them. A knight’s crest, however, was apparently a free pass from all inspections, as far as the guard was concerned. It probably helped that Ariel had all of the looks and bearing of a high-ranking knight, too. Irika couldn’t help but be slightly awed at the knight in her ‘business stance’, head held high and marching with a purpose.

The city of Hilders wasn’t as vast as Brunn, but going by the width of its surrounding walls, was still fairly impressive in its own right. The thing that caught Irika’s eye first was the complete lack of slums and lower class shacks in the outskirts of the city. As soon as the outer reaches of the city became visible through the southern gate, it was like peeking into the upper class heart of Brunn, except even cleaner and more organized and extravagant.

“I haven’t been to Hilders before, but I’ve heard it’s one of the richest cities on the entire continent,” Ariel had told Irika, and she had heard much of the same; many people in Brunn fantasizing about saving up enough money to be able to afford to retire in a house in Hilders.

Ariel stopped walking slightly before the guard checkpoint at the gate to Hilders, and turned to Irika. “Alright. We have a slight dilemma to get over,” she sighed.

The word was unfamiliar to Irika. “Die-lemma? What does that mean?”

“A small problem,” Ariel replied, glancing at the guard station, visibly irritated. “I’m not actually sure whether or not we’ve been branded persons of interest this far north yet. And the only way to find out is to proceed inside the city and check the bounty boards.” Ariel eyed the station guards slowly handling the small queue of arrivals at the gate, as if sizing them up for combat. “And the only way to do that is to flash my crest and log us in. Without the knight’s privilege we will have to be properly inspected and interviewed, and that will take too long and be too risky.”

Irika wouldn’t personally have called this a ‘small problem’, but understood regardless. If they were indeed wanted, they would be in trouble as soon as they showed their faces. And even if their faces weren’t known yet, the news of a ragged sorceress and a tall female knight escaping Brunn might have reached Hilders. Irika was all but certain she wouldn’t be able to keep her nerve when interviewed. And besides, Ariel wasn’t exactly the most inconspicuous knight around either.

“So, why don’t we just skip going inside and resume our journey?” Irika asked.

Ariel rubbed the back of her head, looking uneasy. “The thing is… we don’t have any money. We need to find some work to be able to afford food and shelter, as well as fodder for our buddy here.” She patted the flank of their horse.

Irika raised her eyebrows in surprise. “I thought you had some savings for your journey?”

“I did, but only enough for myself. And besides, I noticed my money pouch was missing after we had left Brunn and arrived at the farmstead.” Ariel seemed to look through Irika, her face calm but her eyes burning in silent rage. “I think after we’re done with this journey, I’ll end up raiding the Brunn guardhouse and punching them all until they’re not moving anymore.”

Irika shuddered, but could relate. Even though she had found out that someone in Brunn had healed the severe wound the orc invader had inflicted on her, she could still hardly believe how correct all of her preconceptions about the Brunn guard had been. The lower classes, not to even mention magic users, really were worth less than dirt to them.

“Then what should we do? Sneak in?” Irika asked, and scouted the outer perimeter of the city’s wall. About a dozen guards in total were stationed at the gate directly in front of them. Another gate was visible some ways along the wall through the forest, and several guards were standing outside of it as well. A single bored-looking guard was just about to start his round through the forest between the gates.

The colorful brick wall itself was only about half the height of the massive battlements in Brunn. Unlike the thick partial walls of the metropolis that let the lower city flow over outside the city’s borders, the Hilders wall was narrower and seemed to encircle the entire city without any gaps, at least on the south side. Irika saw guards patrolling on top of the walls as well, but could imagine a skilled thief scaling a nearby tree and managing to sneak over the wall under the cover of darkness. She glanced at Ariel, who seemed to read her thoughts.

The knight shook her head dejectedly. “I have neither the skill nor the grace to sneak into anywhere, I’m afraid. I’m assuming cloaks wouldn’t help much either if we were to try and enter the city through the gate. So I suppose our only choice is to try and see.” She checked the sword on her hip, grabbed the horse’s reins and nodded at Irika. Irika shivered as her giddy anticipation was overtaken by sheer nervousness.

The pair added themselves to the queue leading up to the checkpoint. Four guards were handling carriage inspections, and one guard within a small booth was interviewing every arrival before letting them in. A grumpy-looking merchant had been pulled over to the opposite side of the station, where his carriage of various wares was being fully unloaded by two guards, while a third was guarding the merchant himself. Another nervous shiver coursed through Irika’s spine. The man just before them in line flashed a piece of parchment to the guard, who took it, nodded and let him and his wagon through without inspection. Suddenly it was their turn already.

“Business?” the guard sitting inside the station booth asked without looking up.

“Bounties and then bartering. We intend to stay for one full day, no more.” Ariel had pre-empted the guard’s next question, as he opened his mouth and shut it again, scribbling something on a parchment. Meanwhile, two other guards were checking their horse’s saddlebags. Irika was glad she didn’t have to handle the situation. The guard’s first vague question alone would have stumped her into silence. Ariel seemed used to checking into cities, though.

“Very well. Once you’ve been checked, you’re cleared for two people and a horse.” The guard finally properly looked up at Ariel, and his eyes widened at her knight’s crest. “Oh, a Mercenary Knight? Should’ve said so in the first place, ma’am.” The station guard whistled to the other two still rummaging through the saddlebags’ contents. “Oi boys, you can leave it. State Knight on business. Do you have an active contract?” he asked Ariel.

“No. That’s the reason we’re here.”

“Very well. You’re cleared, enjoy Hilders,” the guard said and handed over a small slip of paper to the knight.

“Thank you,” Ariel replied and saluted the guard. “Where can I find the city’s bounty board?” she added.

“Head straight towards the cathedral tower, go around to the front and see the inn opposite to its entrance. The bounty board is on the side of the inn.” The guard pointed at the tall, sharp tower jutting from amongst the roofs. He nodded to the pair of women and waved the next queued person over.

Irika couldn’t help but exhale in relief as they walked into the city of Hilders. Evidently they were not wanted persons here yet; that, or the guard had been bored enough to not waste much time appraising the arrivals.

“It seems we’re in the clear for now,” Ariel remarked mirroring Irika’s thoughts.

“Thank the gods. What now?” Irika wondered.

“We hit the bounty boards. We’re fully cleared to leave from and return to the city freely until noon tomorrow. We find some work that pays enough for our stay and travel, then check into an inn and lay low until tomorrow.” Ariel strode along the busy city streets, forcing Irika to put effort into keeping up. Multiple passers-by turned to ogle at the amazonian woman with her gigantic white sword.

Nobody seemed to be paying even the least bit of heed to Irika, which suited her fine. “You’re a real attention-grabber, huh,” she said absent-mindedly. Another short cringe passed through her stomach at her blurt, but she had already learned to feel hopeful that Ariel wouldn’t take offense. And apparently she hadn’t, as she laughed sonorously.

“I am, aren’t I?” she said and grinned at Irika. “I can’t say I hate being the center of attention, but right now I’d rather not be. Thing is, I can’t really do much about it.” Ariel shrugged. “I’ve tried to wear cloaks before, they just make it worse. Instead of curious stares I get frightened ones.”

Irika imagined the knight in a long, hooded cloak, and silently agreed. She would look almost alarmingly suspicious, especially since she wouldn’t be able to hide her giant sword, cloaked or not.

They arrived in what seemed to be the merchant hub of the city. Various stores and boutiques lined the sides, with vendor booths and trinket salesmen filling up the middle of the wide plaza. It was Irika’s first time seeing this many _things_ for sale; not just the usual dull fabrics, vegetables and bread that the lower city of Brunn had to offer. Every booth and stand seemed to be selling something she’d never seen before. She could hardly decide where to look before it was already gone, as Ariel kept striding towards the cathedral on the other side of the square.

Irika would’ve liked to stick around and browse all of the beautiful clothes and glittering trinkets, but stayed silent knowing that she wouldn’t have been able to afford any of them in the first place. She knew that they were under a time constraint, and would have to find work, stock up on supplies and leave the city as soon as possible. But a part of her wanted to stay regardless, to enjoy the sights and the many wondrous things of the beautiful, rich city, even if it meant getting caught within the week.

At least her life would’ve been interesting and novel for that short period of time, instead of being dictated by constant uncertainty like it still seemed to be, despite the traveling pair's earlier plans. Ariel hadn’t said a word to Irika about their situation, the possibility of having to hunt bounties, or much of anything about Hilders and beyond since they had left the farmstead. Irika didn’t want to annoy the already harried knight with a barrage of questions, so she stayed silent.

Irika started wondering what Ariel would do if she arrived at the bounty board and found Irika missing. Would she look for her? Or would she just go about her business finding work, collecting the bounty and leaving the city at first light tomorrow? They'd decided that they would travel together for now, but was it _really_ for the best?

Irika had grown up in the lower class parts of Brunn, so she knew how to go about a city quiet and unnoticed. She could probably spend days or weeks, maybe even months exploring the beautiful city of Hilders, pilfering whatever she needed for food and finding lodgings within unsuspecting citizens’ sheds or rafters. Eventually her past would inevitably catch up with her, but until then she would, for the first time in her life, be _free._

The thought caused a cold jab of guilt in her heart. How could she even think that her mother and her life in Brunn had been something that hold her life back? Despite never having much money or possessions, she had been free enough. Lower class Brunn citizens were usually chased away from the higher class areas by the nearly-omnipresent guard, but that hadn’t stopped the younger Irika from sneaking in and exploring the entire city. Regular citizens usually paid no mind to people who looked less fortunate than them, which had allowed Irika to freely browse the windows of Brunn’s various stores, and even visit some of the city’s libraries and churches unimpeded.

Hilders seemed even more relaxed and liberal in that sense. Once you were inside the gates, it didn’t look like anyone paid any heed to what anyone else was doing, no matter how they were dressed or what they looked like. The guards merely idled along the edges of the plaza, some of them even joining the bustling crowds to do some browsing and shopping themselves. Surely Irika could find a new home in this place, even if she never were a legal citizen.

But would she even want to? What of her companion? What did Ariel mean to Irika and what did Irika mean to her? They had forged some sort of bizarre bond of friendship through battle and adversity, and Irika would trust her life in the knight’s hands and do her best to serve in return. But was there anything concrete preventing them from separating here, going their own respective ways and finding their own solutions to the issues they were currently facing?

Irika’s heart gave a dull squeeze. _“I don’t want to,”_ something in her mind whispered.

She had been mindlessly following Ariel through the edge of the market square. As she came out of her introspective reverie, she noticed that they were already standing between a large, gorgeous chapel made out of chalk white stone, and a high-class looking inn opposite to it. Over the inn’s main entrance hung a plaque that read its name ‘The Traveler's Domain’. Irika didn’t remember what a ‘domain’ was, but looking at the spotlessly clean exterior and the well-organized stable annexed to the inn, it must’ve meant something comfortable.

“The bounty board. Let’s check it out,” Ariel said and continued her militant pace towards the inn. Irika's heart jumped to beat in her throat as she prepared herself to see the one bounty they were both dreading. But no haggard, freckled female face covered by a fringe of black hair was staring back at her from a wanted poster like she had been expecting. Instead, the board seemed to mostly contain small errands for the elderly folk, and random community work for fairly decent pay – by Irika's standards at least.

Ariel finished scanning the most crisp-looking notices on the board and exhaled, relieved. “We're good. This looks promising.” The knight pointed at a large, pristine-looking bounty poster on the board, directly in front of Irika.

“Extermination of goblins... Hilders-Gretsch mine... five thousand gold reward?!” Irika's eyes spun at the number as she read the notice. She had thought her prospect of getting paid four hundred gold for her two dragon horns back in Brunn had been the chance of a lifetime, which she had thoroughly missed. With that much money she could have lived for years comfortably in her mother's lower city house. Five thousand felt like all of the money in the world.

“What do you think? Are you up for some training?” Ariel grinned at her.

“T-training? But aren't goblins dangerous? Why would they pay this much money if they weren't?” Irika shuddered at the thought of fighting creatures that looked like orcs, but were huge and hulking and full of spikes and claws. She didn't know what goblins looked like at all, but that's how she imagined them.

“Goblins are basically overgrown rats on two legs that have a nasty thieving habit. They're about half as smart as orcs and about a fifth the size.” Ariel rubbed her chin and glossed over the poster again. “Thing is, there's usually a _lot_ of them. This notice doesn't say how many, though. City guards usually just stick to defense instead of clearing out nests, which means that sometimes an unchecked population breeds to reach obnoxious numbers.”

The fearsome creature in Irika's head crumbled as she listened to Ariel's description, but some of the nervousness still remained. Irika had still never gone ready into battle, every struggle she'd had so far had been a complete surprise to even herself. Frankly it was a miracle she was still alive. Then again, maybe starting with small and stupid creatures was the way to temper herself into a more proficient combatant. Somehow Irika had the feeling that their battles weren't yet over, and she couldn't keep holding Ariel back when the knight was risking her life for her over and over again.

“Right. Let's do it. I want to learn to be useful,” Irika said.

Ariel patted her on the shoulder. “Well said! You're plenty useful already, but what you need is experience. You've been thrown straight into the fire way too many times for how much of a stranger you are to your own skills.” Her eyes shifted uncomfortably, but she smiled. “Honestly, it's a bit of a miracle that you aren't dead yet. One that we should both feel damn glad about.”

“That's just what _I_ was thinking!” Irika grinned before her mind could process the latter part of Ariel's statement.

“ _One that we should both feel damn glad about.”_ What was that supposed to mean?

 

 

_Extermination_

 

About ten miles north of the city of Hilders lay the Hilders-Gretsch mine, long since abandoned after the bountiful copper veins had run dry. Various fences and natural formations restricted entry to the mine everywhere, except for the main access road which was lined with warning signs.

“'Danger!' 'Beware of rock slides,' 'Beware of treacherous ground,' 'Beware of cave-ins.' And then the goblins! Is there something in here that we _shouldn’t_ be wary of?” Irika was reading the signs aloud, apprehension thick in her voice.

“The signs are probably mainly to deter kids and stragglers," Ariel replied, but couldn't help glancing up at the jagged edges of the gorge looming above. "Goblins are dumb, but they’re surprisingly skilled at digging and building. If they’ve made a nest here, it means the mine’s stable enough to live in." Ariel had never faced the misfortune of having to deal with goblins before. She had occasionally seen them scampering around on some of her missions, though, and heard stories from her knight colleagues about the nastiness of trying to chase the slippery creatures into their narrow habitats.

Irika was still uneasily looking up at the edges of the small gorge they were traversing. “If you say so. I’m going to keep on looking out for rockslides, if you don’t mind.”

Ariel chuckled. “Fair enough. Natural disaster does beat sword, I’m not sure even I could fight a rockslide.”

Irika hummed and flashed a smile, but didn’t bring her eyes down from the cliffs above. Soon enough the gorge widened into an almost perfectly round plaza with various pieces of abandoned mining equipment strewn around, as well as an enormous pulley-and-winch system facing the entrance of the mine, with a huge horizontal crank next to it. The entrance had at some point been nailed shut with various planks and pieces of wood, but someone or something had torn them off and made a small opening, about the right size for a small human child to fit through. On the opposite side of the mineshaft the gorge narrowed severely, reaching deeper into the hills.

A small, grayish, hunchbacked creature was shuffling towards the mine from the narrower gorge as the two women brought their gaze down from the giant winch. When the creature saw Ariel pull out her sword, it rasped out a surprisingly deep croak, turned tail and scampered off into the crags.

“Yup, this seems to be the place,” Ariel said, and glanced at Irika. “You should arm yourself too, just in case,” she added.

Irika pulled out the pearly shortsword and hoisted it into a clumsy stance. She glanced at Ariel, apparently at a loss as to what to do next.

“Keep your back straight. Legs apart. Hand at the root of the hilt, if you need leverage use your left hand around the pommel.” Ariel sheathed her sword, pushed Irika’s lower back forward and straightened her shoulders.

Irika yelped but set herself into a more balanced stance. “O-okay! How's this?”

Ariel nodded at the improvement. “Better. Show me a swing.”

Irika swung the sword tentatively a few times.

“Use your midsection more, especially when stopping the blade's momentum. Gives you quicker recovery time. Also don't be so afraid to hit yourself, as long as you keep your wrists taut and don't lead with the wrong leg, you have plenty of room.” Ariel drew her broadsword again and demonstrated some balanced diagonal strikes. Irika followed suit.

“Good. Now show me a backhand slash into a thrust.” She demonstrated it again, and Irika copied her. Ariel was surprised at the degree of control the sorceress had over her muscles. “Have you done tilling before? Or smithing, perhaps?” she asked as the pair continued their impromptu exercise drill.

“Both, though only a little," Irika huffed as she swung the sword with increasing confidence. "I used to take every kind of work that I could get back in Brunn. Nobody taught me then, though, so most of the time I had to learn the right way to do things through sore muscles.”

“It's a good method of learning. There's only so much a teacher can do, since they can't get in your head or body. Your body remembers, though, and it reminds you whenever you're moving wrong.” Ariel was pleased to see Irika's control getting better with every swing, as they switched back to diagonals.

“Yeah, I've noticed that,” Irika said, throwing out a backhand diagonal that was almost graceful. She had a good sense of balance despite her actual technique still being very rough and lacking finesse. “I used to get horrific back pains from cleaning when I was younger, until I learned to keep my back straight. After that I've been paying close attention to what starts to hurt and fixing it as soon as possible.”

Ariel nodded and smiled in approval. Irika was about as quick to catch on to physical concepts as she was with the wit, though her control was still far from ideal. Against goblins, however, it was plenty good enough. “You're looking good! Just stick to diagonals and thrusts for now. And remember to strike _through_ the vermin, not just at them.” Ariel demonstrated by giving a decisive slice against the side of a nearby wooden mine car, carving it clean through with the entire length of the blade. “Sinew and bone are surprisingly hard to cut or pierce even with a superb blade like mine, and giving the goblins flesh wounds will only rouse them into a panic. And that's the point when our mission fails entirely.”

Irika lined up her sword with her tongue sticking out, and brought it down on the other side of the car. The blade cut about a quarter of the way through and stuck fast. With some effort, she managed to pull the sword loose, stumbling backwards a little. “Wow, that's tough. And _wow_ you're strong! I don't think it'll ever stop to amaze me.” She sheathed her blade and rubbed her reddening hands. She was obviously not used to wielding a sword.

Ariel smiled at the compliment. Hearing it from Irika's lips somehow felt much more gratifying than having been complimented by Boren back in the farm.

Irika was gazing at the cut she had managed to make on the mine car, absent-mindedly rubbing her side. “Are goblins usually armored? And should I worry about being hit if I strike wrong?”

Ariel couldn’t blame her for being worried. Getting stabbed was one of those things nobody would like to – or should have to – live through more times than was necessary. Her worry towards goblins of all things made Ariel smirk a little, but then again, the sorceress simply didn’t know any better.

“Listen. What I said about overgrown rats before is not an overstatement. They’re ridiculously stupid. Unless their nest is in a collective high-alert state, they’ll likely come to investigate their brethren being slaughtered, and oftentimes fail to flee or find a decent hiding spot.” Ariel pointed at the small gray figure peeking out from the other side of the plaza. “See that guy? The same one we saw before. Its curiosity overpowered its barely existent survival instincts. The only reason these buggers still survive in such numbers is because they breed so damn fast.”

Irika looked at the small, gray, long-faced and beady-eyed creature covered in short, coarse hair sniffling at the air in their direction. She frowned a little.

Ariel knew exactly what she was thinking, for she had once thought the same. “And before you get any ideas about feeling sorry for them, let me tell you that they’re a real scourge if left unchecked. What they can’t steal they break trying to pry it off, because they’re too dumb to realize it’s nailed down. They steal livestock and pets, and in some extremely rare cases, even children.”

Irika’s brow furrowed at the creature now scuttling towards the mine entrance. It seemed to forget the existence of the two strangers as soon as its eyes left them.

“It’s going to be dirty work,” Ariel sighed. “I’ve never done an extermination before, but I’ve seen lower ranking knights come back exhausted in both body and mind. I’m not hopeful that we can clear out this entire nest, but if we at least make a good dent in their numbers, we should get a good bit of gold out of it.”

“I suppose that’s why the reward was so high? They don’t expect anyone to actually be able to clear them all out, do they?” Irika asked, still eyeing the creature vanishing into the dark of the mine through the small opening.

“I would assume so. That, or the poster of the notice is particularly rich. That wouldn't surprise me either, since it's Hilders we're talking about.” Ariel pulled the bounty notice out of her pouch. “It's printed on high-quality paper, so I assume it's a bit of both.”

Irika glanced at the bounty, then looked at Ariel. “How do we prove how many we've killed?”

“You usually cut off ears or some other easily procured part of the critter, just like with the dragon horns. Well, except dragon horns are immensely useful and very valuable in their own right.” Ariel chuckled at the disgusted look on Irika's face, as the pair made for the blocked entrance. “Welcome to the bounty hunting business, kiddo!”

A few slashes of Ariel's sword, and a couple of stern kicks made short work of the plank barricade blocking the mineshaft. Some sounds of scurrying cloud be heard from slightly further in the mine. Ariel unclipped a storm lantern from her belt. She had extracted it from their horse's bags before checking the steed in at the inn stable with the last of their silver pieces. Bringing a horse to a place riddled with creatures known for abducting livestock was not a smart idea. “You mind holding this, since you don't have to use your teeth?” she said and grinned at Irika.

“Sure! How do you light this thing?” Irika replied and peered at the strangely shaped lantern curiously. It had a reflective cone set to protrude outwards from the flame chamber in order to amplify light coming out of it.

“Screw the bottom open,” said the knight and pulled out her mechanical flint. Irika removed the oil-filled bottom part from the glass covering, exposing the wick on top. Ariel clicked the quickspark and ignited the wick smoothly.

“Whoa, cool!” Irika stared at the flint in awe.

“Right? I came up with it myself! Using traditional flint is a bit hard one-handed.” Ariel grinned again and held out the flint for her to get a better look. Irika screwed the lantern back shut and held the flint in front of it.

“You ever considered becoming an inventor and selling these? I bet you'd make thousands of gold just with this!” Irika was staring at the simple hinge mechanism incredulously.

“Sell this thing? I've... never thought about it. It's just a flint though, why would anyone want to buy one of these if they have both of their hands?”

“Don't underestimate people's laziness!” Irika threw up her arms, her round, excited eyes aglitter. “People invented the wheel and the pulley so they wouldn't have to hoist heavy things! They invented lamps so that they wouldn't have to carry so many torches!” Irika's enthusiasm was bordering on comical. She clicked the quickspark and produced a small cascade of sparkles. “I... I have trouble using regular flint. Which is why I usually get annoyed and end up using magic instead. And... you know what happens sometimes when I do. I'd buy one of these in a heartbeat if I had the money.” Irika's sheepish grin was illuminated in the lamplight.

Ariel laughed at the memory of waking up to a bonfire explosion. It already seemed so very distant, even though it had happened less than two weeks ago. She stared at the sparks cast by her flint in Irika's hands, as her thoughts rolled from the forest of Alaum, through Brunn into the warm farmstead, and then to Hilders. After having spent the better part of a year doing nothing but recuperating and learning to live using just one arm, the past week and a half felt like a lifetime's worth of excitement. And most of the excitement wasn't even the knight's own, but rather belonged to the young sorceress in front of her.

Ariel had been swept along on an unlikely adventure by the most unlikely culprit, and now found herself thoroughly discredited from her previous posting, and not regretting it even a little. Pursued by her previous colleagues though she might be, Ariel could not remember the last time she had laughed and enjoyed herself as much as she did now. Even the prospect of exterminating a group of vermin seemed positively exciting to her, as long as she was doing it with the excitable girl next to her.

Irika had become more important to Ariel in this very short period of time than she had realized. She felt like she'd become some sort of an amalgamation of friend, sister and mentor to the girl, but there was also something else there. Something that Ariel had never quite felt before, but was self-aware enough to realize.

She liked Irika. More than just a sister or mentor. More than just a friend. Enough to consider it love? Ariel couldn't tell, not yet. She had never had romantic feelings for anyone before, but she had never quite been this keen on another person either. Irika’s mere presence seemed to make the journey that much lighter and more fun.

Although, it might just as well have been the effort of the journey that had made Ariel so attached to Irika instead of any deeper emotion. They'd saved each other's lives a few times each, and Ariel had gone further to protect her companion than she'd had to go for anyone else in her life. It might also just be a deeper form of pity. She had felt true worry for the girl, she had felt true second-hand pain for her past and her scars, but then she had felt true joy at her gradual recovery. And now, she was feeling true pride at watching her grow, learn and discover new things.

Ariel fell back to the feelings she had already noticed back at the farm; she wanted to bring Irika with her to see more, to experience more, and to forget about the pain of the past. She wanted to become the pillar which the young sorceress could lean on in the absence of anyone else who cared about her. It was a selfish thought, but not one that would hurt anyone, Irika included. Then again, Ariel's self-centered way of thinking had cost her before. This time, thanks to the appearance of her Landsknecht colleagues in hot pursuit, she was acutely aware or what it might mean for Irika.

Would traveling together with Ariel end up costing Irika her freedom, or her life? Or would Ariel be able to protect her until they somehow found themselves free? Did she even wish to be protected? Maybe it _would_ be better to just find a safe haven for Irika, in Hilders or elsewhere. A large city like Hilders or Erwayn would surely provide more than enough attraction and excitement for a young woman still in her teens to enjoy for the foreseeable future. It would be easy enough to make her unrecognizable to her past, and settle down to have a life in peace.

Ariel wasn't ready to settle down yet herself, though. Whatever the rationale behind her confused emotions might be, the overbearing, selfish part of her brain wanted to stay together with Irika. They would have to talk things out at some point, for stewing alone on the matters of two would solve nothing. Not with Ariel's poorly developed social and emotional wits and foresight anyhow, she had to concede to herself. Hopefully their mutual plans and wishes would align, and if they didn't... Well, no answer occurred to Ariel, but she felt baselessly certain that things would work out one way or another. A product of her lifetime of blunt and straightforward thinking, no doubt.

Irika gasped next to her and brought the light of the storm lantern to illuminate a fork in the mineshaft about a dozen yards away. Two goblins were peeking from behind a corner of a branch in the main tunnel.

Ariel's heart leapt at the notion of impending violence, as she unsheathed her broadsword to a pleasant keening echo. Just what she needed to clear her head of the uncomfortable maelstrom of thoughts and emotions. “It's time to crack some heads. Ready to put your training to the test?” she said and grinned at Irika.

The sorceress gulped loud enough for Ariel to hear. “I don't think so. But I'll try. Are you sure they're not going to swarm me if I mess up?”

“I'm never ever going to let that happen. That being said, the one who collects less ears has to wash the horse!” Ariel whooped and dashed towards the two goblins.

“Hey, no fair!” she heard from behind her, but saw the lamplight start to bob rapidly after her, and heard the distinct sound of a sword leaving its scabbard.

Despite her earlier inner turmoil, Ariel just could not stop grinning.


	12. The Risk and the Reward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some opening up happens! But not quite enough yet! And then there's a rich lady! Amazing!

 

_Contemplations_

 

The Sun was halfway through setting by the time Ariel and Irika resurfaced from the mine, covered in sweat, dust and blood. Irika cringed when she saw how caked with grime Ariel’s boots had become, before she realized that her entire garb looked about the same. She had never felt such an immediate urge to take a bath before.

”Well, I’m never doing that again no matter how much they pay me,” the knight said, wiping her broadsword on a cloth she had pulled out of her hip pouch. All things considered, their swords were remarkably clean compared to the amount of blood they had seen.

Yet another property of the mysterious marble-like mineral, Irika reckoned. ”I don’t know, five thousand gold is a _lot_ of money. I’ve done worse for way, _way_ less,” she said and grabbed the cloth Ariel handed to her and carefully wiped the spatters of blood and gore away from the shortsword. Trying to clean her own clothes with such a small cloth would be a lost cause, so she focused on getting the precious blade clean. The knight frowned at her, but didn’t say anything. ”Don’t worry, I’ll clean it properly. It’s such a good, beautiful sword, having it dull because of dirt would be inexcusable.”

Irika had finally experienced the quality of Ariel’s swords firsthand, as she had sliced cleanly through the first goblin’s shoulder with some effort. The pang of guilt at killing such an innocent little creature had dissolved immediately, as the dying goblin had spat a lump of slime at Irika’s face, and another one had lunged at her trying to bite her arm. Ariel’s timely interference had probably spared Irika from a blood infection. Pain hadn’t seemed to be an issue to the filthy little beasts either, as they had attempted to claw and bite the swords that struck them, lashing out in anger and only wounding themselves more. Irika had lost count of their kills very early on, and the disgusting bag of goblin ears hanging from Ariel’s belt was bulging full. The knight had been right; most of their prey had come to them instead of them having to delve very deep into the mine to seek the goblins out.

”I wasn’t talking about the sword,” Ariel said and averted her eyes from Irika’s. She seemed to be mulling something over before asking. ”You never had to do anything… actually, never mind.” She cut her question short.

”Do what?” Irika’s curiosity got the best of her. Ariel wasn’t usually this apprehensive with her words.

”It’s a very rude and personal question, just forget it.”

”I don’t mind, just ask! I’ve asked you plenty of rude questions before, haven’t I?”

Ariel’s disquiet didn’t seem to lessen much, as she drew breath and turned her eyes back to Irika. ”You never had to work as a… concubine or such for money, did you?”

Another unfamiliar word for Irika, although she thought she might have heard it being spoken at some point. She felt increasingly embarrassed at every term or custom that she didn’t know, but at the same time yearned to learn more. ”What’s a concubine? I don’t think I’ve ever worked as one.”

”A concubine is someone who provides… companionship for money.” Ariel shifted uneasily. ”Sexual relations. In higher classes they can be very respected as providers of companionship, safety and council, but in the lower classes… Well, usually you would call them whores.”

That word Irika _did_ understand. And she was glad she could answer the question. ”No, I haven’t worked as a whore.” She gave a small, shaky laugh and found the same apprehension that had glazed Ariel’s words. ”There was… a time when I was thinking about it, though. The winter was very cold and we had basically no money. I went to offer myself at one of the inns, but they said they had no need for scrawny kids.”

Ariel made a movement with her arm towards Irika, but bit her lip and stopped halfway. Irika glanced at her companion's face, full of the same worried kind of pity that she had already somewhat gotten used to coming from the knight. She felt bad that her dismal past was the cause of dismay for Ariel, but a part of her appreciated the attention and the worry all the same. In some ways the knight was more compassionate and caring towards Irika than her own mother had been, which often raised a weird, alien feeling in the pit of her stomach. Only recently Irika had started thinking that maybe that feeling rose from the sense of familiality she felt towards Ariel, but at the same time from the feeling that something wasn't quite right there.

“ _Honestly, it's a bit of a miracle that you aren't dead yet. One that we should both feel damn glad about.”_ Ariel's odd statement from before still repeated within Irika's mind. She couldn't quite grasp the meaning of it, or maybe something in her head didn't want to. The possibility that Ariel felt anything more than pity towards Irika made the strange feeling in her stomach turn into a painful squeeze. She didn't think she could handle losing another important person to her.

Irika forced her thoughts out of the self-destructive downhill towards which they were heading, and wrenched them back to the slightly less miserable story from the past. ”I’m- I’m glad it turned out that way. I'm glad I failed. It was a difficult year, but we survived. I never told my mother what I tried to do. I never told anyone. And luckily things picked up after that anyway, once the both of us found many jobs to do.”

”That was… I’m sorry.” Ariel covered her brow with her hand.

”It’s fine, really! I don’t mind. The memories of those times might still be a bit painful, but they can’t hurt me anymore. Didn’t you tell me that?” Irika walked up to Ariel and patted her on the arm.

This time Ariel didn’t stop herself, and wrapped Irika into a hard, metallic one-armed hug. ”Man, you’ve really been through so godsdamn much. It never ceases to amaze me how _fucking tough_ you really are. I may be physically strong but your strength is just something else, something infinitely more admirable.”

Irika felt a blush rise on her face and a lump in her throat. She had no idea whether she should hug Ariel back or not, and being pressed against Ariel's armor felt all kinds of awkward.

”I...” Ariel hesitated again, her uncharacteristically soft voice drawing Irika's attention back away from the physical sensation. ”I just feel like I want to give you more happy things to think about, and help you forget about the painful past. I know that for the most of us our past never truly leaves us, but you can always make it a smaller part of you by filling yourself up with better things.”

Ariel's hand brushed Irika's dusty hair, her fingers combing it gently. A familiar, soft and warm voice seemed to be ringing inside her head for a split second, content and laughing. The tightness in her throat dissolved with a sigh.

Once again Irika felt like Ariel was talking from experience. She wanted to ask about it, but the words didn’t come out. For the longest time Irika had had the feeling that the knight also harbored a past full of hardship, apart from just the physical trauma that she had gone through in the past few years. But she felt like there was a barrier around Ariel's past that she didn't know how to breach. Besides, standing in a dark, dank mine dripping with filth and blood wasn’t exactly the best setting for such a conversation anyway.

After a quiet, awkward moment, Ariel patted Irika on the back, turned around and wordlessly motioned her to start moving back towards Hilders. The bag of ears on Ariel’s belt squelched unpleasantly with every step. The shadows of the forest were getting long enough to obscure the edges of the road, but the storm lantern Irika was carrying still had some fuel left for their return journey. Irika felt that despite there being so many words that the two could and _should_ exchange with one another, they sure spent a considerable amount of time merely traveling in silence.

She considered it mostly her own fault, as she still didn’t quite know whether or not she should still be worried about things like tact or station or caste. A lot of the questions she had managed to ask Ariel had been her thinking out loud in spite of herself, and every time she had expected to be snapped at. Most of the people Irika had met in her past had disliked being unduly questioned, her own mother included. She had learned to keep her mouth shut unless something indicated that it was okay to ask. Something about Ariel's humorous nature had made Irika's tongue slip time and time again.

At some point, if they ever found a good moment of respite from fighting, running and worrying, it would be nice to sit down and properly talk to Ariel about everything; the past, the present and the future. Irika had told her companion much of her own past, and she also wanted to know everything about her. She especially wanted to know what motivated Ariel to keep protecting her, and what she was planning for the longer run, besides just survival.

The torches and lamps of Hilders came into sight surprisingly fast, as the pair traveled lost in their own thoughts. Ariel flashed their permit to the gate guard, who nodded them in without a word. The entire city seemed to give way to the heavy silence between them, as the loud daytime chatter had waned into random clanks and thuds from shopkeepers putting away their booths. Ariel led the duo past The Traveler’s Domain.

Irika glanced at the revelries within as she finally broke the silence. ”We’re not turning in the bounty?”

”The poster says to turn it in at the mansion on the north side of town. I hope they’re still open for visitors,” Ariel replied, without turning to look at Irika.

Irika felt a sudden, disjointed pang of annoyance at the knight. Ariel had a habit of leading her by the nose without explaining anything beforehand. Even if they were all sorts of apart societally, wouldn't it at least be polite to discuss plans concerning the both of them before putting them into action? Especially after what the knight had said to her at the mine. Ariel's words and her actions didn't align at all, which vexed Irika to no end. Was she being led on, and if so, for what possible purpose? Or was Ariel just _that_ awkward? Not that Irika could criticize her on that point, being plenty stuck inside her own head most of the time as well.

Granted, whatever her personal feelings may be, Ariel _was_ a commander, and she had told Irika that it was difficult for her to break out of the role. Although sometimes it just didn't seem like she was even trying. Wasn't this exactly the kind of behavior for which Ariel had asked to be slapped back at Ries' farmstead? The knight did have much more experience in facing unpredictable situations, though, and it wasn't like Irika had any solutions to any of the problems they were currently facing. Regardless, it would've been nice to at least be considered.

“ _Or maybe it's_ me _who just needs to learn to be more assertive...”_ Irika thought dourly, for she could not bring herself to slap her companion like she had promised to do. Instead she kept following Ariel in silence, as they walked towards the very northern end of the town. Her attention was brought from her thoughts to the multitude of gorgeous, huge buildings in the area whose beautifully decorated facades glittered in the half-light. Irika would have called any of the surrounding houses mansions, but when their final destination came into sight, she understood why the poster hadn’t specified which mansion they meant. She would rather have called the dwelling in front of them a small castle, with its own private guardhouse and an entire patch of forest surrounding the entryway. The mansion itself loomed over the forest in the distance.

Ariel walked up to the guardhouse and knocked on the doorframe. ”Come in! I'll be with you in a moment!” a man's voice sounded from around the corner.

The pair stepped inside, and Irika was reminded of the Brunn guardhouse with a violent chill running down her spine. This place was smaller, but somehow bore the same feeling of cold, constrictive authority as the one in Brunn. The healing scar on her side gave a dull twinge. ”We’re here about the bounty at the mine,” Ariel called.

”Just a moment!” the jovial male voice responded. Some shuffling and clanking came from the room around the corner, and a short, plump, balding man in a casual guard outfit emerged. His presence alone seemed to make the guardhouse much warmer. ”The goblins, eh? Nasty buggers, took over the Lady’s mine months ago! Nobody seemed willing to take the bounty, though. I reckon they thought there was a catch since the reward was so high.”

”Was there?” Ariel asked shrewdly.

”Not at all! You’re from out of town, aren’t you? M’lady just has a… reputation for handing out copious amounts of bothersome busywork, especially to people who have done well by her in the past.” The guard rubbed his neck and smiled awkwardly. “But none of our usual contractors wanted anything to do with the mine. So she decided to post a public notice instead. As you could probably deduce from the reward, she also has some trouble assessing the value of things. She owns most of the city, you see.”

Irika’s breath caught in her throat as she coughed out her surprise.

The rotund guard smiled. ”Don’t be alarmed! Despite her shortcomings, Lady Hilders is a very benevolent leader. Her upbringing may have been royal, to say the least, but she tries her very best to reach her people.” He stroked his beard. ”Well, from within her manor anyway. But yes! Your bounty! You have proof of kills, I trust?”

Ariel dropped the bulging bag of ears onto the table next to the guard. The guard goggled at it with his mouth slightly open. ”Wow. I was expecting about ten or twenty.” He eyed the two women in the room. His eyes remained on Ariel's arm and the sword handle sticking from over her shoulder for a while, before reaching the crest on Ariel's chestplate. His eyes widened. “Well that'll explain it! A true blue lady Landsknecht running bounties for M'Lady! She'll be over the moon!”

“Speaking of...” Ariel said, looking at the guard sternly. ”You’ve let this go for quite a while too long. I recommend contracting a small group of State Knights instead of relying on domestic help. We must've killed at least sixty or seventy, and judging by the density of the vermin, we didn’t get even a quarter of them.”

The man rubbed his balding head, looking troubled. Irika found it slightly amusing how exaggerated this man’s facial expressions were and how fast they changed.

“I had no idea it had gotten that bad. Though I should've expected it, seeing as the damn critters have plenty of food in the surrounding forest and a safe haven within the mine.” His troubled face vanished as fast as it had come as he clapped his hands together and smiled at the pair of women. “But I shall take your counsel to the Lady for serious consideration! For now though, your reward.”

He was about to turn back to the room he had come from, but stopped. “Actually... How would you feel about meeting Lady Hilders herself?”

 

 

_The Lady in Red_

 

Ariel could all but hear Irika's jaw hit the floor. She had been beside herself with excitement just to meet a Landsknecht in person, and now they were presented with the opportunity to meet the regent of one of the wealthiest cities in the land. Ariel found herself slightly dumbfounded as well. Would the Lady Hilders even want to meet a pair of grimy, bloody mercenaries from who knows where? Just by the word of this gate guard?

“You see…” the guard continued, chuckling at their nonplussed stares. “The Lady has always had a great interest in female knights. She keeps out eyes and ears around the country, looking for stories and accomplishments by the bravest and most valorous womenfolk.”

Irika drew a sharp breath next to Ariel. The familiar, mouse-like hint of panic was dawning on her face. It was the same expression Irika wore whenever she blurted out something she thought was offensive or uncalled for in Ariel's presence.

“W-what about me? I’m not a knight, I’m not brave!” the sorceress uttered.

“Bull _shit_!” Ariel all but yelled before she could stop herself. Irika certainly wasn’t a knight, but she was definitely as brave as the very best of them. Irika flinched slightly, but for once seemed more awed than frightened of Ariel’s outburst.

The guardsman goggled at their exchange, then looked Irika up and down, pausing on her grime-covered tunic for a second. He chuckled again. “Knight or not, brave or not. It’s fairly obvious to me that you played your own part in the demise of this sorry bunch of creatures.” He gestured towards the bag of ears. “I’m sure the Lady would be glad to meet you as well. She quite enjoys hearing about up-and-coming female adventurers, you see!”

Tension left Irika's shoulders, as her face switched from panic to confusion. She nodded mutely as Ariel spoke. “I suppose we’ll take up on your offer, then.” She leaned closer to Irika and muttered under her breath. “Having a powerful ally might help us with… things.”

Irika nodded again, this time eyes lit with understanding. The Lady’s manor had to be one of the safest places for them in Hilders, even from other Landsknecht. That is, if the Lady wasn't planning to imprison them and sell them to Brunn. Ariel had no idea what sort of person the secretive Lady Hilders was. As per the multitude of rumors she had heard about the wealthy leader, she was almost never seen outside of her mansion.

“It’s settled, then!” the guardsman said happily and clapped his hands again. “I’m afraid the guest carriage to the manor has already retired for the night, so you’ll have to walk the way. Not that it’s a long trek for established individuals such as yourselves!”

“I know of a simple way you could make the discomfort up to us,” Ariel said, smiling craftily at the guardsman. If they truly were to be the Lady's guests instead of her prisoners, surely some accommodations could be made beforehand. They were still owed the reward for handling a good portion of the goblins at the mine, too.

“Oh?” the guard said, smiling jovially in return.

“Our horse is being taken care of at The Traveler’s Domain. If you could ensure that her care continues for our stay at the Lady’s manor, we would be greatly appreciative.”

“How about I make you a better offer!” The guard seemed to like happily clapping his hands together with every decision he made. “I’ll send word to the inn and have your horse brought to the care of the estate, instead. Free of charge, of course! I assure you our handlers are among the best in the land!”

“That’ll be perfect. Thank you. Her saddlebags are with the innkeeper,” Ariel said and extended her hand to the guard, who took it and shook it. Irika fidgeted, seemingly debating whether she should offer a handshake, too. Before she could come to a decision, the man had already extended his hand towards her. She shook the man’s pudgy hand timidly, and only afterward looked horrified at the amount of filth on her palm. The guard didn’t seem to mind, though.

“Well, then! I suppose directions to the manor are unnecessary, as it is a straight road. I’ll lamp ahead that two invited guests are on their way,” the guard said, nodded to the women and retreated to the room at the back of the station.

Ariel crossed the room to walk out of the back door, and Irika followed suit. She noticed her looking back at the top of the guard station, where a bright lamp was flickering rhythmically towards the manor.

“It’s lamp code,” Ariel said, smiling at Irika. She guessed the sorceress didn't quite know what 'lamping' meant. “State knights use it too, to communicate across long distances. It’s especially useful at sea, and in the mountains.”

“That's so simple!” Irika marveled.

“Yep. Much more efficient than couriers, and much more subtle than signal horns.”

“Can you tell what it’s saying?”

Ariel looked back at the lamp for a while. The patterns didn't seem familiar to her, as expected. She shook her head at Irika. “Different nations usually have their own code, so that others can’t decipher what they’re communicating. I don’t know why Hilders, a nation that has essentially never seen warfare, would have one though.” Training people to use lamp code was about as time-consuming as training them in a whole new language, so very few institutions outside of the military and the nautical sector did that. The Lady Hilders seemed to consider it a necessary talent for her gate guards, though. Or perhaps this guard in question – and whoever was receiving his message at the other end – were soldiers in their past.

“Why does Brunn use the loud signal horns instead of lamp code?” Irika asked.

Ariel pondered for a while. The Brunn militia had used to be a fairly cursory protection unit comprised mostly of regular citizens, supplemented by the Royal Forces from Erwayn and sometimes State knights. After what they'd seen in Brunn a few weeks before, though, they seemed much more like an organized and trained outfit than they were in the past.

“I haven’t seen the Brunn guard use lamp code, but I bet they do. Signal horns are usually used when you absolutely require the recipient to notice the message, and when positioning is important.” Ariel pointed at the flickering lamp, then towards the manor. “Lamp code is usually used in just one specific direction, and precisely because people who aren’t expecting it usually don’t notice it. That’s not possible with signal horns, or the large signal fires atop Brunn's walls.”

Irika seemed to be greatly intrigued by this nifty form of communication. She was gazing at the flashing lamp transfixed, until it went completely dim again. She turned around to see three short flashes issuing from the manse. “I'm guessing that means 'message received',” she mused.

“That, or 'we'll ready the irons',” Ariel japed and laughed at Irika's alarmed face. “Relax, that was a joke.”

After a short walk the Hilders estate rose upon them like a mountain. Ariel had never seen a private residence this large before; even the largest mansions she'd seen in Capital City and Erwayn were about the size of Ries and Ferdinand's farmhouse. The Hilders mansion was enormous.

“Whoa,” Irika said next to her, gazing up at the myriad of lit windows in the twilight. Ariel could only agree; the sight was breathtaking. She walked up to the front doors that were at least twice as tall as her, and knocked on one of them with the huge attached brass knocker.

The door was opened by a tall, thin man dressed in the same guard outfit as the short, plump one back at the gate station. “Welcome to the Hilders estate, dear madams. I have received a transmission from the gate, saying that two guests would be received. It is my honor to welcome you to the Lady's manse,” he said and bowed. The guard's impeccable posture and manner were in stark contrast with the rotund gate guard's jovial and relaxed one, as he pulled himself stick-straight and held the door open for the two women. His eyes lingered on Irika's blood-and-crud-stained tunic for a moment, but he made no reaction to her filthy appearance otherwise.

If the mansion's facade with its abundance of windows glittering in the half-light was impressive, the foyer was absolutely magnificent. There were simply too many colorful and beautiful carpets, paintings, statuettes, vases, bookshelves, stuffed wild animals and everything else to take in at once. The foyer was clearly meant to instill awe, and in Irika, it really did. The sorceress was spellbound, drinking in the sights and curios with all of her senses with her mouth unabashedly open.

“ **Welcome, welcome!”**

A very loud and melodious, curiously deep female voice rang in the lobby like a church choir soloist’s. It drew the pair's eyes up to the top of the grand staircase taking up about a quarter of the foyer. A very large, very striking woman clad in a bright red evening dress was descending the stairs, her entire person jiggling with each step.

“ **Well, if it isn't the esteemed Landsknecht of the State, Ariel von Heide!”**

Ariel winced slightly as the woman's volume didn't seem to diminish at all as she got closer. Now that the person – who couldn't possibly have been anyone else but Lady Hilders herself – was closer to them, Ariel saw that the loud woman with her high heels was only slightly shorter than her, and about twice as wide.

“ **But where are my manners! I am Lady Auriale Regina Hilders, the mayor of the fine town – named after my esteemed ancestor – in the sixth generation!”**

Lady Hilders seemed to jiggle with every word she spoke. She was the most voluptuous woman in every way possible that Ariel had ever seen. Her blonde hair was set in ornate curls around her wide, heavily made up face. She was wearing opulent jewelry everywhere possible, including a golden stud through one of her eyebrows and one of her nostrils. Not one of her plump fingers was ring-free. Gauging her age was all but impossible. Irika looked to be about as shocked by the Lady Hilders' appearance as Ariel felt. Her training in manners kicked in slightly late, as she flinched out of the visage of the Lady and bowed deep to her.

“I'm very pleased to meet you, Lady Hilders. As you already seem to know, my name is Ariel von Heide and I am a Landsknecht of the Mercenary State.” She gestured towards Irika. “And this is my companion, Irika of Brunn.”

Irika bowed awkwardly, not knowing the proper etiquette. The Lady Hilders nodded at Irika, then turned back to Ariel and smiled mysteriously.

“ **Oh, I well know who you are! I also happen to know that you have been exiled from the state, and that the both of you are currently wanted persons in Brunn!”**

Ariel's stomach twisted. She tried to keep her cool despite her mind racing a million miles a minute – switching between formulating an escape plan and gauging the surroundings for enemies. She had been on the fence about whether or not this Lady Hilders was a friend or a foe, but thanks to the over-the-top mansion, it’s foyer and its owner, every strategic thought had all but evaporated.

The Lady's smile was inscrutable as Irika turned to Ariel, horrified. The Lady Hilders knew, mistaken though she was, about Ariel’s status in the State, and she knew about both of the women’s status in Brunn. She was obviously very well informed, and evidently entirely comfortable with using her information as a weapon. The Lady's guard in the room didn't seem to be taking any action besides remaining at their stations, though, so Ariel at least felt hopeful that they weren't about to be immediately seized and thrown into prison. After glancing around the great entrance hall of the Hilders mansion once more, Ariel brought her eyes back to the Lady herself. Threatening her in the presence of this many guards would likely not work, but she couldn't help frowning at her ambiguous demeanor.

“And what is it that you want of us?” she asked, looking the Lady straight in the eye. Lady Hilders looked theatrically ponderous for a moment, tapping her lower lip with one of her heavily ringed fingers.

“ **Straight into the point, eh? What indeed...”**

An infuriating, superior sort of smile crept upon the Lady's face as Ariel kept staring at her. She was determined to keep her professional and courteous conduct only until it didn't matter anymore. After a long moment of silence, The Lady's smile relaxed as she puffed air through her nose. Her deep voice became significantly smoother, though no less loud than before as she spoke.

“ **Stalwart, patient and straightforward. You really are as the reports would paint you to be. It is an honor to meet you, Sir Ariel von Heide of the Landsknecht.”**

Lady Hilders inclined her head at Ariel, then at Irika.

“ **And you, Irika of Brunn. As you have most likely already heard, I do so adore female adventurers and knights of all sorts! Even female carpenters and blacksmiths and the like are close to my heart! It is a dream of mine to see us womenfolk rise to true equality with the men in our land, after all.”**

Ariel heard Irika exhale shakily next to her. She too felt the tension leave her body as she rubbed her forehead. “You had us going there, fair Lady. Everything you know is true – well except the fact that I was _honorably discharged_ , not exiled.” Ariel unclipped the knight's crest from her chest, showed it to the Lady and stashed it in her waist pouch. She wouldn't need its influence in this place. “Our adventure through Brunn holds much more than what their reports would suggest as well. Irika likely saved hundreds of people, and the guard would have her executed for it. They have no tolerance for sorcery.”

Lady Hilders' expression at Ariel's final statement made her realize that she had slipped up. The Lady turned her eyes to Irika. “ _Sorcery?_ ” Her bombastic voice quieted down to almost a whisper. Irika shuddered and Ariel stepped half in front of her.

“Like I said,” Ariel continued calmly. “She saved hundreds of people. There's nothing for you to fear from her.”

The Lady smiled again and clapped her hands together.

“ **Oh, but you misunderstand! I do not fear or shun sorcery, I am verily fascinated by it! I have never yet met a sorceress, oh this is so exciting!”**

Lady Hilders did a small hop in place, making her voluminous chest shake mesmerizingly. She reached out to take Irika's grimy hand in her own. Irika flinched slightly, but looked more confused than afraid.

“ **Oh would the both of you please grace me with your presence at dinner tonight? I would so like to hear all about your adventures in person!”**

Irika looked at Ariel.

Ariel almost burst out laughing at her expression. “We would be pleased to, Lady Hilders,” she smiled to the Lady instead. “Would you allow us to clean ourselves first, though? Our excavations in your mine turned up blood rather than copper.”

The Lady tittered girlishly, though with her deep voice it came out rather eerie.

“ **But certainly! How fortunate of you to arrive at this hour, for the main bath should still be filled and heated. You may use it at your leisure, and I will have your garb and armor cleaned and polished in the meantime.”**

She looked at Irika and appraised her with her eyes.

“ **We will definitely have appropriate temporary clothing in your size, Irika dear. However...”**

She turned to look at Ariel.

“ **I may have to offend you with men's clothes, for none of the residents in this mansion are quite as tall as you are, Sir Ariel. I do hope you can forgive this affront.”**

“I don't mind even a little,” Ariel said and smiled. “I don't think I've worn female clothes since I was about five years old.”

Lady Hilders looked ponderous at Ariel's statement, but nodded.

“ **If you are sure. Mr. Cecil here shall show you the way to the bath, and shall arrange for the cleansing of your garments while you bathe.”**

A thin older man stepped out from behind Lady Hilders. Ariel hadn't noticed his presence at all. Next to her, Irika started slightly at the man's appearance. Everything in this manor, from the Lady herself to the dozens of servants suddenly standing around, and the plethora of interesting things within the entrance hall must've spelled sensory overload to the young sorceress.

“It shall be my pleasure to assist our fair guests,” the quintessential butler drawled and bowed deeply to the pair of women.

Irika made a small, unsure bow back to the butler, and Ariel couldn't help smiling at her again. She then bowed to the butler as well, fully knowing that such courtesy towards servants was not expected from guests. Irika had done it purely out of politeness – and honestly, Ariel thought, there was no reason not to be kind towards the people who take care of you, caste be damned. She should try to learn from her companion's example more.

“ **Oh, and one more thing!”**

Lady Hilders bellowed after the pair as they turned to follow the butler out of the foyer and into a grand hallway.

“ **You ought not to be worried of anyone asking after you for... various reasons, during your stay here. I assure that until my business with you is concluded, you shall enjoy our full hospitality and asylum.”**

The Lady smiled her infuriating smile again.

“ **And depending on how well you perform for me, mayhaps even in perpetuity... Ho ho ho!”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to take a small break from writing due to moving and some life stuff. Expect the next chapter two or three weeks from now.  
> In the meantime, feel free to check out another extra chapter! /works/15933605/chapters/38485784


	13. The Bold and the Bestial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's some nudity and then a plot hook!

 

_Shame_

 

Irika didn't have nearly enough eyes for the Hilders mansion. Everywhere she looked, there was something interesting or beautiful to see. She wanted to take a closer look at everything, but the person called Cecil kept a steady pace along the hallways, occasionally remarking on one of the paintings or exotic stuffed animals that seemed to occupy every free square inch of the mansion's walls and floors.

Irika had never seen a butler before, but Cecil's garb and demeanor didn't leave much room for speculation. The man was like straight out of a storybook; sharply dressed, extremely polite and knowledgeable about a plethora of things. The butler himself was about as big a wonder to Irika as all of the curios in the hallway.

"M'lady is a peerless collector in not only this land of Stenning, but anywhere in the world. Not even the Grand Academy at Obelea has an assortment of artefacts such as hers!" Cecil the butler said as they rounded the corner of the hallway into a room rivaling the mansion's foyer in size and density of objects.

 _"Whoa,"_ Irika and Ariel said in unison.

The butler smiled at them benignly. "This room houses some of the very rarest of M'lady's specimens. Feel free to browse, dear madams, whilst I shall go check the status of the bathing room. I must ask you to not touch the specimens, however." Cecil bowed deep and backed away into another corridor leading deeper into the mansion.

Both of the women's eyes were immediately glued to the largest and most bizarre sight in the room; a yellowish-brown, vaguely horse-like creature which seemed to be half neck and half legs, tall enough to almost touch the roof of the giant room.

"What in the world is _that_?" Irika asked, gazing up at the creature's horned head with her mouth open.

"No freaking idea. It's like someone stretched a horse and painted it!" Ariel said, doing much the same.

"The pattern on its coat is _weird!_ Actually, there's nothing about it that _isn't_ weird. I wonder what it eats?" Irika ducked behind the creature’s front legs. She could almost stand under its stomach without having to stoop.

"Birds maybe? Seems like it could catch them right out of the air!" Ariel replied, craning her neck to look at the beast's head. "Lucky its legs are so thin or I'd probably have nightmares about having to fight one. Even I would have a hard time beheading one of these."

Irika giggled as she inspected the creature's bushy-ended tail. "Maybe they eat the fruit and stuff that other animals can't reach? Well, unless the place this guy comes from is full of animals this tall."

"There's a plaque here!" Ariel called and beckoned Irika over. _"’Camelopard.’_ What a weird name!" she exclaimed and continued reading as Irika joined her in front of the information plaque. "’ _Found mostly in the plains of Triske. The camelopard's hard hooves and long, sturdy legs protect it from sharp, thorny underbrush, a distinctive feature of the southern plains.’_ Great, its legs are 'sturdy' are they? Guess I'm going to be having those nightmares anyway."

"’ _The camelopard is the tallest animal yet discovered. This specimen is fifteen feet tall, but they may grow as tall as twenty feet. It used its great height to eat leaves and fruit off the top of trees, where other animals usually cannot reach.’_ Hey, I was right!" Irika whooped.

Ariel punched her lightly in the arm. "Professor smartypants. Are you sure you're not secretly a scholar?"

Irika was in the middle of blushing as Cecil returned to the room. "The bath is indeed still heated and ready, dear madams. Everyone else save for the servants of the estate has already bathed, so it will be ready for you immediately," he said and bowed again.

"Excellent, thank you!” Ariel said and nodded at the butler. “I'm used to being dirty and bloody, but something about goblin blood makes me feel decidedly... unclean," she added to nobody in particular. Irika noticed her shudder slightly.

Cecil beckoned them to follow him along the hallway. Irika desperately wanted to stay and study everything in the room, but she also shared Ariel's sentiments about goblin blood to a great extent. The butler pointed out the door to the dressing room attached to the bath, and excused himself as the pair of women entered. The dressing room was about four times as large as Irika's childhood home had been.

"Is there anything in this mansion that isn't _huge?_ " Irika asked, looking around to admire the benches, powdering tables and clothes compartments made out of a dark, handsome wood.

Ariel glanced back at the door as if to check nobody was there. "Certainly not the Lady of the mansion herself," she said, not being able to suppress a snort of laughter.

Irika was momentarily shocked by the inappropriate joke, but started laughing madly right after. Ariel joined in as they filled the dressing room with unrestrained mirth. Ariel _was_ a soldier after all, and apparently hadn't lost her earthly roots despite all of her decorations. Irika couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed so freely, and felt wonderful despite the dull ache in her left side reminding her of its presence with every breath. It was like all of the tension and uncertainty of the past days and weeks melted into the moment. The Lady's guarantee that they would not be pursued into the mansion certainly took its own share of pressure off Irika's shoulders as well.

After catching her breath, doubled up on one of the benches for a long moment, Irika let out a long, satisfied sigh and glanced at Ariel. The knight was wheezing softly on the other end of the bench. Their eyes met for a second, which was enough to dissolve the pair into a new fit of giggles. Amidst the laughing, Ariel started removing her legplates. Irika watched her fiddle with the leathers traps for a while, before the realization hit her, like a hammer directly to the brain.

They were going to _take a_ _bath. Together._ She had no idea why, but suddenly all of this felt like a huge mistake. Like someone else was supposed to be there with Ariel instead of her. The knight didn't seem to feel any of the same hesitation whatsoever, though, as she removed her armor piece after piece, surprisingly swiftly for a woman with only one arm. A year and then some of practice, the small part of Irika's mind not overwhelmed with unwarranted panic figured. She caught herself staring at the undressing knight and whirled around to face one of the clothes compartments on the opposite side of the one Ariel had chosen. Heat was rapidly rising up her neck and all the way up to her ears, and she couldn't quite understand why.

It was not like she hadn't bathed with other people before; the public bath in the lower class part of Brunn had smelled heavily of lye and was frequented by way too many people for its size, but it had been the only proper way Irika or her mother could keep themselves clean in the absence of a private bathing room in their tiny house. Now, she was alone with Ariel in a dressing room that was about the size of the entire Brunn bath house, which led Irika to only guess how large the bath of the mansion itself must be. She would have much preferred it to be full of people rather than just the two of them, though.

Ariel's voice made Irika jump. "Aren't you going to bathe? I don't think you'll need to soak your own clothes seeing as the servants are apparently going to wash them."

"I- I'm sorry, I was just... I'll be right behind you!" Irika squaked, sounding like herself as a chipmunk. She didn't dare turn around to see whether Ariel had already rid herself of all clothes, and instead waited until she heard the bathing room door open.

"Whoooa." Ariel's voice echoed as if she had stepped into an empty cathedral. "You have to see this!"

"I'll- I'll be just a momoment!" Irika stammered and started on her belt. Her mother had always told her that being naked is nothing to be ashamed of, but she still felt incredibly shy when it was her turn to go in the nude. Even back in Brunn she would have rather bathed in a pail behind the bathhouse rather than inside, for her scar-laden body always invited gawking and pointing, especially from children. And now, for some reason, the thought of being seen by Ariel and seeing the lady knight's naked, muscular body made her usual shyness quadruple.

“ _This is dumb, it's just a bath with another woman. Like taking a bath with my mother,_ ” she thought to herself, and was finally able to shed her tunic and undergarments into the clothes basket. She grabbed a towel off the next compartment over, hid herself behind it and followed Ariel into the bathing room.

The room was about twenty times as large as Irika's entire home in Brunn had been. Her shyness and apprehension were momentarily forgotten as she gaped around the vast hall, trying to take it all in at once. The vast walls were painted with beautiful sceneries; of the ocean, a forest, a mountain and a moor. Irika stepped in closer to inspect the wall-sized painting of a rolling green moor that was closest to her. She realized it wasn't a painting at all, but instead a mosaic made of thousands upon thousands of colorful pieces of ceramic. “Wow.” Her awe escaped from her lips on its own accord.

“I still can't believe you survived something like that...” The sudden strange statement that echoed in the bathing room surprised Irika more than the beautiful images had. She spun around to look at Ariel, who was now leaning on the edge of the bath and staring at her with a frown on her face.

“What...?” Irika adjusted her towel, confused.

“I'm sorry. One's not supposed to stare at other people in the bath,” Ariel said and turned around, her expression unhappy.

Irika looked down at herself behind the towel. Her body certainly wasn't much to smile at. She was really thin and gangly, and there was hardly an unblemished spot on her body. Her arms, legs and back were all freckled and full of scars, permanent reminders of her horrendously miserable childhood. The very wide and deep scar that started from her upper back, wrapped around her side and ended in a deep, star-shaped gouge just above her hip must've been what Ariel had meant. Surely Irika should've died; if not from the massive trauma that caused it, then at least from the loss of blood that must have followed.

The part of her scattered memories where she received her most gruesome scar was also the faintest. Any attempts to try and remember anything more than flashes and her mother's face were met by a wave of nausea originating from her mind rather than her stomach. Not that there was any point in trying to remember something so traumatic anyway. Someone had healed her and saved her life, and that was the important part.

“ _I suppose seeing this many scars would be jarring to someone who's not used to it.”_ Irika's shyness at nudity had somewhat faded into a shame of something else, though that thought itself made her a little angry. _“Not like I asked to receive any of them,”_ she thought defiantly. She wrapped the towel tight around her body and walked further into the bathroom, spiting the part of her that just wanted to escape. None of her troubles would be solved by running away, least of all the fact that she was positively filthy.

Besides the luxurious sceneries on the wall, the bathroom floor and the bathing pool themselves could also have been classified as works of art. They were made out of a reddish brown stone with parallel streaks of various hues of red and brown, some of which almost spanned the entire breadth of the room. Irika had seen white marble before, and this stone looked much the same besides its color. It really did remind Irika greatly of Ariel’s swords, though the colors of this stone were significantly more earthly and less mysterious. The bathing room apparently also had pipelines bringing heated water directly into the bathing pool. The knobs and faucets lining the edge of the bath shone in the lamplight, likely polished daily by a servant of the manor. This room was more than awesome to a person who had grown up in poverty and never seen much of anything like it.

“This room is amazing,” Irika said, her dour thoughts once again drowned out by the colors and glimmering lights. She set herself down in the bath, towel and all.

“It is. The knights' bathing quarters in Capital City are nothing to sneeze at either, but this is just... royal.” The upset look on Ariel's face earlier had changed into something quite probably mirroring Irika's own as her eyes also wandered around the room.

They watched the paintings in silence for a long while. Slowly, some of the thoughts Irika had had in the dressing room started nibbling at the corners of her mind again. She flinched as she heard the sound of water rippling from the other edge of the bathing pool. She snuck a glance at Ariel, who was now sitting on the edge of the pool, untying knots in her hair. Irika turned her rapidly re-blushing face back so quickly that it made her eyes fuzzy for a moment. The swift glance hadn't been quite enough to discern any details from Ariel's body, and Irika felt supremely annoyed at the part of her brain that wanted her to get a better look.

“ _It's just two women bathing, nothing strange is going on!”_ the voice in her mind was telling her. Reluctantly, she agreed. She carefully turned her head to sneak another peek at Ariel, who was still untangling her hair, occasionally letting out small humphs of annoyance.

Her body was – Irika couldn't think of a more fitting word – statue-like. She was greatly reminded of some of the imposing hewn stone figures which she had seen in a book that depicted the Royal Palace of Erwayn, and of the miniature versions she had later found outside of the Brunn town hall. She had wondered whether humans could ever actually come to look like that. The male statues were clad in togas, but every visible muscle in their body was taut and defined, throwing shadows into their contours just by existing.

The woman in front of her right now looked much like those statues, except decidedly more feminine. The grooves of her muscles were clearly visible in the lamplight of the bathing room, the shadows in her arm, chest and stomach twisting as she worked to untangle the knots in her hair, still blissfully unaware of Irika's unabashed barrage of staring. From what Ariel had told her about her life of physical work and training, Irika had expected her body to not have a single extra ounce of useless weight; yet the lady knight's bosom, hips and legs were not _all_ taut muscle, but had a very pleasant curve of femininity to them. Not quite like what Irika's slightly plump, well endowed mother's had been, but rather far more shapely, and enchanting enough to make it hard for Irika to take her eyes off Ariel.

“Thought I said one's not supposed to stare in a bathing room,” Ariel suddenly said, grinning at Irika from behind her tangle of hair.

Irika felt steam erupt from her face as she whipped back around. She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly but no words came out. Her uneasy thoughts, shame and everything else were bulldozed out by pure embarrassment.

“Argh. Hey, could you help me out? There's a really annoying tangle in my hair and it's really hard to undo with just one hand.” Ariel's voice held no discontent about having been stared at whatsoever.

Irika opened her mouth to comply, but still couldn't get a voice to come out. She shakily stood up, her sopping wet towel draping around her like a leech. Her heart was suddenly pounding in her throat as she sidled out of the bathing pool and turned towards Ariel, still determinedly looking the other way. What on earth was _wrong_ with her!? Irika's mind and body were stretched taut with nerves; every reaction she made to Ariel's words and presence seemed comically exaggerated even to Irika herself, as if she had suddenly turned into a drunken fool. Or perhaps it was just as she had always been, but worsened by the agitation of being naked?

“I take that as a yes? It's hard to see with this damn tangle in the way! Gah, _fuck_!” Ariel cussed, struggling desperately with her hair.

“Y-Yes!” Irika's voice sounded two octaves higher than normal to herself, as she walked closer to her companion and turned to look at her hair, trying to focus on it rather than other parts.

Ariel's hair really _was_ a mess. How did she usually take care of it with just one hand? It must've been a complete nightmare to untangle after a bad bout of sleep, not to even mention the rapid movement of combat. Irika's own hair was straighter and a lot shorter, but still begged for a good brushing every time it got the least bit ruffled. She absent-mindedly picked up a strand of the moist, dark red hair and held it between her fingers. It was fairly rough and the ends were heavily frayed. Had Ariel not cut her hair since she was relieved of active duty? It would make sense if she’d had shorter hair as a knight, or perhaps she had worn a ponytail back when she could still tie it herself.

“Thanks. I'll get out of my hair so you can get in it.” Ariel chuckled at her own joke and pulled her hand away from her hair. “Seriously thanks. This is a huge help. There was a time in the fairly recent past when I just had to cut a huge knot away, looked like I was missing a chunk out of my head for a while.”

The mental image made Irika giggle. She felt like a knot of her own tension had been cut out. There was nothing to be nervous of. It was like girls doing each other's hair, something she hadn't experienced in the past herself. She had quite envied the sight of young girls having fun together back then, and made an immediate, resolute decision to enjoy it now. Irika worked carefully to untangle Ariel's hair, then soaped and rinsed it for her without prompting. Ariel seemed to accept the servitude without comment, softly humming some indeterminate melody. Amidst her quiet scrubbing Irika's gaze wandered onto Ariel’s left side. Without realizing what she was doing, she lightly touched the part of Ariel's left shoulder where her arm was supposed to be connected.

“Hmm?” Ariel hummed, not turning her head.

“Ah- I- I'm sorry,” Irika stammered, blushing again, in spite of herself. She was getting a bit tired of constantly being embarrassed, especially since she was the only one behaving awkwardly in this room.

“It's fine! Take a closer look if you want, I don't mind. It's not something you see every day, after all.” Ariel turned her left shoulder towards Irika.

The shoulder joint that should've been there was instead a slightly concave hollow that connected her back, front and side fairly smoothly. There was a faint, X-shaped scar across the middle, and the muscles of her shoulder, back, chest and side seemed to be attached to the edges of what remained of her shoulder cup.

“Does... Does it hurt at all?” Irika asked, wondering how Ariel's side and shoulder could possibly still work without the missing pivot.

“Nope, not at all. I think I told you before, there used to be some phantom pain but it's all but gone now.” Ariel rolled her half of a shoulder around lightly. The muscles still seemed to be in perfect working order, despite something very crucial missing there. “I was unconscious for most of it, but apparently the surgeons removed all the useless parts and attached the muscles to the nearest points that worked, and then the healers worked their magic to make it all stretch to a proper length and angle and adhere.” She flexed her chest and back alternately and Irika felt another annoying blush rise on her face. “I really have to give huge kudos to them, everything works just as when I had the arm. Well, except the arm. But that's to be expected.” She leaned back to grin at Irika upside-down, giving her a good, long, unintentional look at her breasts, stomach and legs.

“I- I- I- I think I'm done!” Irika said and turned on her heel.

“No you're damn well not!” Ariel said crossly behind her. Irika felt something wrap around her middle, and then she was flying through the air. She screamed as she hit the bathing pool and submerged. As she resurfaced, she felt a rough hand ruffling her sopping wet hair. “It's your turn, piglet!” Ariel shouted triumphantly, as she started forcefully scrubbing soap into Irika's hair.

Irika spluttered, shrieked and giggled under Ariel's rough scrubbing. Her heart was hammering again, but this bizarre, unexpected situation somehow felt a thousand times less awkward than the quiet, furtive stares before. She felt like a small child being washed by her mother or older sister – but at the same time she desperately wanted to do away with the mental notion of blood relation and family altogether. Surely no sane person would be this obviously attracted to her family member's body.

It was like the short flight into the bath had unlocked an unexplored – or perhaps unallowed – chain of logic within Irika's mind. She had finally begun to slowly come to terms with the fact that it was the simplest and most reasonable explanation for all of her emotional and behavioral madness. Attraction. All sorts of new, increasingly confused thoughts concerning her realization flashed through her head, but Ariel's rough scrubbing seemed to wash them all away with the dirt and the grime.

Ariel at the very least seemed to mildly enjoy Irika’s company, and that was plenty enough her. She was so tired of the uncertainty and pessimism regarding her companion’s disposition, and decided that trust was the best way forward. She would stay by Ariel's side until she was told to get lost. Any other nuances of whatever a relationship between two people could be were irrelevant – at least for now. Irika valiantly fought those thoughts down, if only to preserve her sanity within the confines of the bathing room. That conversation would be best left to a less naked situation.

Irika sat in the bathing pool, free of her towel, eyes closed and enjoying the sensation of Ariel's strong fingers massaging her scalp. She still felt embarrassed out of her mind, but also found herself more and more in control of it by the minute. What were a few old scars on Irika's skin compared to everything they had already gone through together?

 

 

_Determination_

 

“Can we talk?”

Irika’s question snapped Ariel out of a haze of sorts, and made her realize that she’d been staring at the sorceress sidelong for a good moment. Irika was staring back at her resolutely, with the air of throwing caution to the wind. Something about sharing a bath seemed to have melted some kind of a wall between them, and Ariel had subconsciously been all but waiting for the question. She had some things to tell Irika as well, and some things to apologize for.

Ariel turned to properly face Irika across the corner of the table. “Yeah, we should, shouldn’t we?” She sat up straighter as if getting ready for a mission debriefing. She even unconsciously started fixing the creases in her dress shirt, before catching herself and chuckling lightly at her own stiffness. The classy, silky white shirt and the black long pants Ariel was wearing were the courtesy of the Lady Hilders and her maids, and she found that they actually fit her quite well; not just in form, but in fashion too. Irika seemed to agree, at least based on the giddy glances she’d been throwing at Ariel every five seconds, as they had made their way through the corridors of the Hilders manse.

The butler called Cecil had met the pair of women just outside the bathing room door and beckoned them to follow. “The Lady has some matters to discuss with the both of you before you retire for the night. She is currently amidst some urgent paperwork, but will join you shortly. You are welcome to start dinner without her,” he had said and led them into a dining room that could’ve probably fit two hundred diners. Ariel and Irika were the only ones sitting in it right now, though, and had chosen chairs on opposite sides of the large table closest to the doors. A few servants were cleaning up plates and utensils that had been used by other guests previously over the course of the evening. A waiter had stopped by to inquire about the pair’s orders, and both of them had chosen to skip the appetizers and move straight to the main course, as it was getting late.

If Irika was guilty of covertly ogling at Ariel’s new garb, Ariel herself must’ve been doubly guilty of unabashedly staring at Irika. The sorceress was squeaky clean; her short-ish, feathered black hair almost sparkled in the light of the chandelier, and there was no trace left of the grime that usually covered her freckly face. She was currently wearing a deep blue casual evening dress made of luxurious silk which, along with her general cleanliness, was such a stark contrast to her usual disheveled appearance that it made Ariel’s heart skip a beat.

Irika fidgeted around for a moment, then glanced up from under her brows and shot Ariel a half-grin. Her usual mousiness seemed to have somewhat washed away with all the dirt. “I seem to remember you telling me to slap you every time you behave like a commander. I think you're overdue for a few good slaps.”

Ariel was surprised at Irika’s blunt, crass statement, compounded further by her current, almost princess-like appearance. It took a few moments for her brain to kick into gear and the laughter bubble up from her stomach. The pair shared a liberating moment of giggles.

“You’re not wrong there,” Ariel chuckled. “I’m sorry about leading you by the nose, again. Like I said before, I’ve been commanding troops for a very long time now, and there’s usually no need to explain plans of action for rudimentary missions with them beforehand.” Her own words stunk of empty excuses to herself as she sighed and bowed her head towards Irika. “I’m sorry. No excuses.”

The sorceress smiled and nodded vehemently. “It’s alright! And I understand. Honestly, I’m pretty used to being directed or commanded to clean this or fetch that, so that sort of thing doesn’t bother me much.” Her expression clouded for a moment as she glanced away from Ariel. “The thing is... With everything that’s happened since we left Brunn, I found some new, weird sense of freedom, for the first time in my life. And I feel horrible about it. I was mulling over it in my head.” Irika shook her head. “And it just seemed like despite suddenly having endless possibilities in front of me, I just switched the chauffeur of my life, from my mother to you. Thinking about things like that made me feel guilty and angry at myself, but also kinda annoyed at everything else. I even thought about leaving you and going to explore Hilders on my own. I could probably steal food and stuff for living for quite a while before someone caught me.”

Irika’s smile, albeit a slightly sad one, returned as she looked back up at Ariel. “But in the end I do owe you more than just vanishing without a trace and becoming a criminal. The past weeks feel like they’ve been full of nothing but desperation and pain and worry, but none of it is your fault. It’s the opposite, really. Putting aside the fact that I’d be dead ten times over without you, it feels like you’re always leading me someplace interesting and keeping me safe. No matter how much I may gripe to myself, and I suppose now to you, the truth is that I really want to keep traveling with you.”

Ariel’s heart leapt and gut lurched at the same time as Irika gazed at her. She was taken aback by her sudden openness, and again by all the feelings of doubt and uncertainty that she’d been harboring within. _“I shouldn’t be this surprised, should I?”_ , she thought to herself. _“Have I even tried thinking about things from her perspective in the first place?”_ And besides, ‘Keeping her safe’? By letting her get stabbed and imprisoned and hunted?

“I feel like I’ve somewhat _failed_ to keep you safe, myself,” Ariel blurted out, staring at Irika. She’d found herself empathizing with the sorceress on multiple occasions, but she had failed to consider her feelings more often than not. Ariel’s own callousness dawning on her felt like a punch in the gut, one that she felt like she deserved. Had she always been this inconsiderate? _“_ _No wonder I don’t have too many friends,”_ She thought wryly and sighed. “Once again I find myself selfishly thinking that you would be safer and happier staying here than coming with me. I could return to Capital City to face whatever awaits me for the alleged charges at Brunn and for assaulting several State officials, and try to clean up this mess for the both of us.”

Ariel looked out of the window, not really seeing anything past the depth of the night. “But this time I’m actually going to ask for your input before I do or don’t. I also find myself thinking, probably for the first time ever, that I _don’t_ _want to_ go back to Capital City _._ Don’t get me wrong, I will be loyal to the State for as long as I live, no matter how hard they or anyone else tries to exile or discredit me. But right now, I’d much rather pick up and go on an adventure with you than go face the consequences for actions that are neither my fault nor yours.” She turned back to Irika, grinning mischievously. In her head she had intended it partly in jest, but as the words came out of her mouth, she realized that that really _was_ what she wanted to do. State punishment be damned.

Irika giggled, but her slightly sad smile returned right after. “Never mind about not being able to keep me completely safe, it never even occurred to me to think of you as guilty for anything that has happened. I may have been annoyed at the way you were ignoring me at times, but I never resented you for it, or for anything else that you’ve done for me.” Irika had been speaking without hesitation so far, but her intake of breath wavered slightly as she continued. “And as for the rest… I can’t really fault you for being less than considerate towards someone of such a low caste, and you’ve more than made up for each and every one of those occasions.”

Before Ariel could hotly retort that she didn’t care about caste, she was silenced by the sorceress’ face falling into a similar expression she had worn back at the farm when she had told Ariel and Ries about her excruciating memories. “All of this started in Brunn before we had even met, and my mother was the one who did wrong. And she paid the ultimate price for it.”

Irika shot into a story about her mother’s crime, the criminal thugs who had blackmailed them, the questing hall official who had misled her, and her desperate journey from Brunn to the forest of Alaum. Ariel’s heart ached for Irika’s misfortune, like it had done so much lately, and her stomach burned with fury for the injustice that the young sorceress had faced. She could even find understanding and justification for what Irika’s mother had done. Growing up in the lower class parts of town could not have been pleasant for a young girl.

Ariel was all but ready to jump out of her seat and start drafting a letter to the State knighthood about the thugs who had accosted Irika and her mother in Brunn. “Assuming that I haven’t been blacklisted from the State at this point, I could send word to have that area of Brunn scoured for the fucking scumbags. They would be brought to justice and pay for their crimes,” she said, barely able to unclench her fist before she drew blood from her own palm.

Irika’s brow furrowed, but she managed to force another smile. Ariel didn’t want to see this sort of smile from her ever again. “Thank you, but it’d be pointless. It wouldn’t bring my mother back. For now I just want to get as far away from Brunn as possible,” the sorceress concluded.

Ariel reflexively lifted her hand to ruffle Irika’s hair, but stopped herself just in time to avoid what she had finally realized to be a fairly condescending gesture. To her great surprise, Irika pushed her head into Ariel's hand and giggled lightly. “Thanks for listening, and thanks for caring. I don’t even mind if it’s just pity or something like that, it feels good to be cared about,” Irika said as Ariel settled to pat her head awkwardly.

Ariel’s heart jumped again, this time at the notion that Irika thought all she'd done for her had been out of pity. “It’s not that, I--”

“ **Why, what lovely ladies you two make when properly cleaned and clothed!”**

A booming voice issuing from behind Ariel startled her out of her declaration. Lady Hilders had stepped into the dining room, now wearing a glittering purple nightgown that was – if possible – even more revealing than her previous dress had been. A sheet of flimsy, wispy fabric was wrapped around her shoulders, pretending to cover her bosom while being impressively see-through for what was supposed to be a piece of clothing.

“ **I would take you both as my chambermaids this instant if you wished so!”**

The Lady laughed sonorously, and the empty dining room echoed with her loud, low laughs. Ariel couldn’t find humor in the situation and felt more like punching her for the interruption, but Irika seemed to find the Lady’s presence amusing. “I don’t think the life of a maid is for me,” she said and glanced at Ariel. Ariel’s indignation was melted away by Irika’s twinkling eyes. They’d have to continue their talk later.

“ **Alas, restless is the heart of an adventurer, I suppose. I would have loved to hear some of your stories tonight, but my work kept me later than expected. Instead, I shall only entertain you with an important request – one which I hope you will sleep on.”**

Ariel cringed first at the Lady’s loudness settling onto the seat at the end of the table between her and Irika, then at the sudden appearance of a plateful of meat stew in front of her. Lady Hilders’ voice had completely drowned out the footsteps of the waiter, who was now carefully placing a similar plate in front of Irika.

“And you, m’lady?” the waiter asked and bowed at Lady Hilders.

“ **Nothing for me, Bastian dear, thank you. I shall have my usual before midnight.”**

The Lady smiled at the waiter, who returned the smile and bowed himself away without a word.

“ **Please, by all means though, eat. You must be famished. I shall tell you the rough details of my request in the meantime.”**

Irika nodded at the plate which she was eyeing with the look of a starving wildbeast. Ariel couldn’t blame her, as she was about ready to pour the entire plateful into her gullet herself, spoons be damned. The Lady smiled her usual benevolent smile and gave the pair a moment to wolf down their food before continuing.

“ **It must be the whimsy of fate that _you_ of all people would be led to my door at this time, Ariel von Heide. I do not know whether you are the kind to bear a grudge or to vow revenge, but the request I have for you may concern both.”**

Ariel stopped eating and looked from her plate to the Lady, whose voice and face had now fallen from their usual melodious whimsy into complete seriousness.

“ **The northern outskirts of the forest that surrounds this fair city of mine have seen an unwelcome visitor – a gryphon.”**

Irika spluttered softly as her spoon clanked onto the edge of her plate. The hair on the back of Ariel’s neck stood up and she felt a quick jolt of pain in the remainder of her left shoulder. She vaguely realized that everyone present was now staring at her, but her mind was traveling elsewhere, back in time to two years ago and the fateful encounter which had cost her all of her future plans. Her reverie was quickly – and thankfully – broken by the Lady’s voice.

“ **I also understand if this task is too painful or uncomfortable for you to consider, which is why I was a bit hesitant to bring it up in the first place. I would greatly appreciate if you would give it some thought, though, as we would very much like to avoid a debacle such as the one you suffered through two years ago.”**

The Lady tapped her chin in thought as all the eyes nearby had now turned to her.

“ **Of course, this specimen threatening our periphery is not nearly as legendary in size as the one you faced. Our militia is certainly able enough to handle the beast on our own, but your expertise and knowledge would be more than invaluable. Avoiding any unnecessary loss of life is our top priority. At the very least I would greatly appreciate your briefing of my men concerning the beast.”**

Ariel nodded at the Lady mutely and looked down to stare at her stew. She had indeed never been one to hold a grudge or swear revenge. The beast who had left her mutilated and nigh-unemployed was long since dead, its stuffed head adorning the wall of the conquest hall in her old barracks in Capital City. What did others of its kind matter to her? Ariel had heard stories of knights and other warriors who had sworn to kill every orc or ogre or other creature they come across, only to never find rest from their past again, and she had no desire to join them in a lifelong lost cause.

But something in her mind did react to the Lady’s request in a way that didn’t feel like her usual self. Was it anger at her past mistakes? Did she subconsciously want some sort of closure of revenge after all? She had been unconscious by the time her old adversary had been decisively brought down; maybe her body yearned to travel back and strike the finishing blow on the beast who had cost her so much? And now, such an opportunity was presented to her on a silver platter, even if the gryphon in question was a different individual altogether.

Not like there was any reason for her to at the very least debrief the Lady’s soldiers and teach them how to avoid the same fate that had befallen her – or worse. The Lady’s foresight in giving Ariel time to ponder her request was both a blessing and a curse; she still felt too confused to make an immediate decision, but she would almost certainly not catch much sleep thinking about it. “Alright. I’ll sleep on it and give you my decision tomorrow morning. Although I can tell you right now that I don’t see any harm in debriefing your men,” Ariel replied and nodded at the Lady, whose frown turned into a beaming smile in an instant.

“ **Marvelous! That shall be a great great help in itself. Our men have no experience in waging war on beasts larger than an orc, so your expertise shall be invaluable.”**

Lady Hilders clapped her hands together just about as loudly as she spoke. Irika started slightly as she’d been staring at Ariel for a while. Ariel glanced at the sorceress and flashed a quick, reassuring smile, before addressing the Lady again. “It’ll be my pleasure to help. I think I’ll retire after dinner if we’re going to start early.”

Irika turned to the Lady as well and nodded. “I’m almost too sleepy to eat, but I’m also way too hungry to sleep yet...” She gripped the spoon she’d been absent-mindedly soaking in her stew and resumed shoveling the food into her mouth. Ariel chuckled and tucked into her own dinner as well.

“ **Ho ho ho! Please, enjoy dinner, and Cecil will show you to your bedrooms afterwards.”**

The Lady rose from the dinner table and turned to leave, but stopped and glanced back at the pair of women.

“ **Speaking of… would you prefer separate bedrooms? Or will you share? We have plenty of room either way.”**

Ariel glanced at Irika. “Either way is fine with me. We can talk if we share, I guess.” Irika nodded but didn’t respond, seeing as her mouth was full of stew.

The Lady’s smile widened and her eyes twinkled.

“ **Very well! Would you prefer separate beds... or will you share?”**

Irika choked a little again, but Ariel just laughed. “We’ll take separate beds,” she replied. “For now,” she added, grinned at Irika and thoroughly enjoyed the familiar blush creeping up the sorceress’ cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm probably going to stretch my chapter upload frequency to once per two weeks just to take some heat off life stuff. Sometimes it might take three, sometimes I might push one out in a week. Who knows! I sure don't.


	14. The Meeting and the Maid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One faces duty, the other intrigue. The end results are surprisingly similar...?

 

_A Surprisingly Normal Morning_

 

Once again Ariel had missed her chance. As soon as Irika had hit her bed covers, she was sleeping like a rock. After carefully pulling the covers from under Irika and tucking her in, she plopped down onto her own bed, not bothering to undress. The loaned clothes would be washed after they switched back to their own garb anyway.

Despite her sleepiness, the thought of what lurked somewhere in the forests north of Hilders kept nagging at the edges of Ariel’s mind. She hadn’t really thought too deeply about the events from a year ago, besides the short revisit when she had told Irika about the adventure. She had been so focused on the effects on her career that she had entirely forgotten about the cause of it all.

Now, imagining another gryphon making its roost in some general nearby location made her shiver. An infinitesimally short pulse of excruciating pain seemed to flash through Ariel’s shoulder every time she visualized the beast in her mind. Had she really been this deeply affected by the loss of a limb, unbeknownst even to herself? Was it merely regret that drew these awful, unfamiliar feelings out of her, or was it revenge? As much as she did like to uphold the notion of ‘the past is the past’, recent events seemed to disagree.

Ariel lay on her back on the royally large and soft bed and wondered whether she’d be able to sleep that night. She closed her eyes for a moment, and opened them to the morning light filtering into their bedroom past the long, ornate curtains.

“Huh. Weird.” The words left her lips more groggily than she’d expected. _“I suppose I needed that,”_ she reckoned as her mind slowly caught up with the full night of dreamless sleep.

“What is?” came an equally groggy answer from the bed to her right. Irika was stirring within her own covers but making no effort whatsoever to open her eyes or get out of the heavenly soft duvet.

Not that Ariel could find a good enough reason to get up yet either. “I don’t think I’ve ever slept without dreaming before,” she said and pulled her blanket tighter around herself. The bed was just the right softness and warmth for the still somewhat chilly spring morning.

“I dreamt of bathing with you,” Irika mumbled in response.

Ariel slowly turned her head to stare at the barely awake sorceress. There was a pregnant pause, and then Irika’s eyes shot open comically wide as she gasped and pulled the covers over her head.

“I-... Please forget that!” she squeaked from within the duvet.

Ariel laughed into her blanket. “It was that stimulating for you, huh?” she jabbed at Irika. A fluffy pillow flew over the gap between their beds and landed on her face.

“Bully!” Irika mutely exclaimed, now rolled into her bedding like a pillbug.

Ariel laughed again and sat up. “You’re just giving me too much material!” She stretched up high and yawned loudly. A snort issued from within the bundle of covers on the next bed over.

“You sound like a donkey when you yawn.” Irika’s sleepy but grinning face popped out from the middle of the fluffy duvet.

“I’ll show you donkey!” Ariel snarled playfully, hopped out of bed and stomped lightly onto the roll of blankets with one foot. Irika squealed and giggled inside the roll as Ariel poked her side with her heel.

“I give- I give up! Stop! Ahahaha!” Irika wriggled around on her bed and flumped off the far edge with her bedding. Ariel laughed again as the groaning sorceress picked herself up from the floor.

“Aw crap, I fell asleep in the dress?” Irika stumbled onto her feet and looked over herself frantically. “Is it ripped? There’s no way I can afford to pay for this!”

“Relax, it doesn’t seem to be. And somehow I think Lady Hilders has so many clothes that she could use ‘em for kindling if she wanted to.” Ariel yawned again, taking special care not to make any weird noises this time. “I think I’m going to inquire about breakfast and possibly taking another bath. Sleeping in full clothes was not the best idea.”

Irika stiffened for a minuscule moment at the mention of bathing, but shook herself out of it and nodded. Ariel grinned to herself but decided not to tease her any further. For now.

Breakfast was significantly more lively than dinner had been the previous night; at least two dozen other guests were having their morning meals and drinks amidst a pleasant buzz of conversation. Most of them turned to look at every new set or arrivals into the dining hall, and Ariel and Irika’s arrival seemed to send a small extra bout of excited muttering throughout the room. Irika shirked a little under the gaze of so many strangers, but Ariel had a feeling most of the eyes were on her, as usual.

In the end Ariel chose to believe Lady Hilders’ word in that their presence here would remain a secret to Tolmann’s pursuing party. She did have a feeling that the Lady might have let slip that a famous female knight was currently residing in her manor, though, as she felt several dozen pairs of eyes bore into the folded up left sleeve of her dress shirt. Ignoring the attention, Ariel settled into the same seat she had occupied at dinner. Irika sat down across the table, her surroundings suddenly entirely forgotten to her in the presence of the bread basket that lay between them. Lady Hilders didn’t seem to be present.

“Not like her presence would be hard to notice…” Ariel said quietly to herself, and heard a small snort from across the table.

“She said she’d have a snack at midnight or something, didn’t she? Maybe she’s a late sleeper,” Irika mused, barely able to restrain herself from devouring the aperitif bread for long enough to talk.

It took a moment for Ariel to remember what Irika was talking about. “Oh, that’s right. You really pick up everything around you, huh?” One more little spark of admiration to join the others.

Irika shrugged. “Itfh a nafural fing I guef.” She swallowed down a huge mouthful of baguette. “Had to keep my ears and wits about me to find work for most of my life.”

“It’s actually a really useful talent. I wish I had the attention span to pick up the little things,” Ariel said, twirling her spoon between her fingers and staring at it. She looked up at Irika who was turning a familiar shade of pink. Ariel grinned. “You’re really not used to being complimented, are you? Well, you better get used to it, you’re much smarter than you think you are.” _“And other things…”_ Ariel’s subconscious chimed in. She swatted it away.

Irika was spared from having to answer by the appearance of Cecil the butler. “Good morning, dear madams. Her Ladyship wished for you to know that the mansion is fully open for guests until noon, so feel free to peruse any of our services until then.” He nodded to Irika and turned to address Ariel in particular. “The captains of the guard and the militia are convening in the west wing of the mansion in an hour. The both of you are cleared to join their meeting.”

All of Ariel’s questions were answered before she could ask them. Inspired by Irika’s natural courteousness the previous day, she stood up and saluted the butler with her arm across her chest. “Cecil, wasn’t it? Thank you for your most excellent service. Would you extend my thanks to the rest of the manor’s servants as well?”

“From me as well!” Irika piped in. “We’ve been here for less than a day but it’s been so amazing!”

The butler’s neatly trimmed moustache twitched as he bowed to the pair of women. “Thank you for your kind words, Sir Ariel, Lady Irika. I shall certainly pass them on.” He remained slightly bowed, glanced around and lowered his voice slightly. “The Lady wishes for all of her guests to be treated as royalty, and often their manner towards the servitors reflects this. Your kindness is more appreciated than you realize.” Cecil smiled, winked and left.

Irika gaped after the butler. “Why wouldn’t servants of a huge, rich manor like this be appreciated?”

Ariel smiled sadly. “Their working conditions and pay are probably better than…” she stopped herself. Irika smiled at her. “Better than… better than what you or other people who have lived in the lower classes know. But they’re still not excellent. Most rich folk and even a lot of middle class folk consider servants to be beneath them. Servants are generally not treated badly, but oftentimes they’re treated like air. Like they’re not there.”

“Sometimes that’s even worse,” Irika finished Ariel’s thought. Ariel nodded.

Not that she knew what that felt like; her stature was very hard to ignore in many ways. She could imagine Irika did, though. The arrival of their eggs and bacon drove away the bleak thoughts from the pair of them like the shining summer sun.

After the excellent breakfast Ariel found that her mind was already made up. She would attend the meeting of the militia officials and offer whatever help they needed from her regarding the situation with the gryphon. A part of her wondered whether all of this royal treatment was to pressure – or guilt – her to help, but she reckoned her honor as a knight would not have let her leave without aiding fellow soldiers regardless.

Irika had resumed her throwing of furtive glances at the various items and books on display along the corridors for their trip through the mansion. It wasn’t hard for Ariel to guess whether she would choose to join a dull military meeting or explore a manorful of discovery and astonishment.

“Just go, let’s meet up in the lobby in about two hours,” Ariel sighed, after Irika’s seventh quiet “Ooooh!” at some curio that they passed. “Actually, I’ll just find you since you’ll probably be too immersed in some big-brain showcase to notice the time passing by,” she added and poked the sorceress’ forehead.

Irika’s brow scrunched mutinously for a second, but then relaxed into a sheepish smile. “I would disagree but you’re probably right. Also, _thank you._ I don’t think I’d be much use in a strategy meeting or whatever it is that the militia people are meeting for.” She skipped over a threshold joyfully and spun around as her eyes scoured the surrounding shelves for the most interesting-looking piece of wonder to start with.

Ariel could hardly believe how adorable this usually-so-demure young lady had recently been. The hem of the blue dress swirled around Irika like a blooming flower, complementing her pale skin and black hair way too well to be a coincidence. Ariel would have to thank the Lady for her choice of apparel later. “You could also take this opportunity and take a bath in peace,” she said, not able to resist one final bit of teasing before heading on.

Irika was already too absorbed in a freaky-looking black skull on one of the shelves to pick up on it. “I’m not that bothered. I might take one before changing back to my usual clothes though,” she said instead without looking at her.

Ariel chuckled and ruffled Irika’s hair. “Enjoy the exhibits then, and see you in a couple hours.”

“Yup, I’ll definitely be here somewhere,” Irika responded and smiled at the bookcase in front of her.

Ariel sighed but couldn’t help smiling as well. The meeting could probably take three years and the sorceress would still be inspecting the curios in the mansion. She gave Irika one last pat on the head and made for the staff wing.

 

* * *

 

The very air itself seemed to stiffen as Ariel crossed the threshold of the staff meeting room. Whereas the manor at large had been a veritable haven of comfort and intrigue, the meeting room reeked of military discipline. A group of four men, all with short hair and trimmed moustaches were sitting around the meeting table with impeccable postures, clad in similar uniforms with some small differences. A couple of the manor’s own guard were also standing in attention at the edges of the room. For the first time in a while Ariel felt truly in her element, and for the first time ever it annoyed her. _“Am I really_ this _stiff?”_ she mused as she stepped into the room and drew all eyes on herself.

The man seated nearest to the door stood up, and Ariel recognized him as the plump guard who had been working the mansion’s guard station the previous evening. “Ah, Sir Ariel von Heide, welcome!” the guardsman called. Despite his exaggerated welcoming gesture, Ariel’s instincts screamed to be on guard again, as the man had announced her identity to the entire room despite Lady Hilders’ pledge of anonymity.

The guardsman grabbed Ariel’s hand and shook it jovially. “You’re a welcome sight, Sir, so welcome! We’re all shooting in the dark concerning this matter, so professional help will be more than appreciated.” He gestured for Ariel to take a free seat at the table, but before she could, all of the three other men around the table had scrambled to shake her hand in turn.

“Huge fan, Sir Ariel, huge!” said the first one.

“We all greatly appreciate what the State Knighthood has done for our city, and for our country!” said the other.

“We like to compare our battle scars at the barracks, but I think you’d have us all beat! Sir!” said the last one, eyeing her folded-up sleeve.

Although the barrage of ‘Sirs’ from these strangers felt more outlandish to Ariel than ever, the stiffness in the room melted away in a flash. Or maybe it had all been in Ariel’s head to begin with. The bored-looking guardsmen in the room seemed to have straightened their postures in the presence of a person who outranked their captains, though.

The rotund guard seemed to pick up on Ariel’s quiet astonishment at the situation, as he chuckled and clapped his hands together. “As they have told you, Sir, we’re all great fans of the Landsknecht here. You happen to be especially famous in this mansion, thanks to Lady Hilders’ being so enamored with women of note.” He gestured for everyone to return to their seats. “My name is Wackner and I am the guard captain of this manor. Do forgive me for not introducing myself sooner, Sir. Your status wasn’t revealed to me until after I returned to the mansion at the end of my shift.”

“Please drop the Sir, just call me Ariel,” she interjected. “I don’t officially outrank anyone in this country.”

Wackner looked somewhat uncomfortable for a moment, and Ariel could guess why. Military hierarchy was so deeply ingrained into soldiers that addressing a superior officer casually was difficult even when asked to, at least in the State. It couldn’t have been that much different elsewhere.

Eventually the guard captain smiled and nodded. “Very well, Ariel! Here, let me introduce you to the others; this is Treves, the guard captain of eastern Hilders, Wallander, the captain of western Hilders, and Jonas, the cooperation captain with the Cuan forces.”

Captain Wackner gestured to each of the other men in turn, who nodded to – or saluted – Ariel once more. “We were also supposed to be joined by a representative of the Cuan border guard, but they could not make it due to an event on their side of the border that they were not willing to discuss further.”

The man captain Wackner had introduced as Jonas continued. “They were rather secretive about it, so it’s either internal affairs or something so extremely dire that they don’t want us to be worried about it.” He chuckled to himself, and Ariel understood the latter, rather alarming statement as a joke.

Captain Wackner nodded and looked at Ariel, again slightly uncomfortable. “As for your current situation… regarding the State and Brunn. We have certain information that makes us believe that there is more to it than what the news from Brunn would have us believe.” The captain chuckled and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “Of course, as you may have realized, all of us here respect you greatly and would give you the benefit of the doubt regardless of said information. The Lady has instructed us to share said information with you… _after_ your cooperation. I would love to divulge it right away as an act of good faith, but I’m afraid the Lady is quite more… whimsical with her motivations.”

Ariel would rather have used the word ‘scheming’, but understood regardless. A favor for a favor was not an uncommon method of operations in the Mercenary State, and it made sense when both parties had something to give. Lady Hilders certainly held all of the cards here, and besides, Ariel was definitely not going to pass up this piece of information that had apparently turned the Hilders guard to believe her and Irika innocent despite the news from Brunn.

“Very well,” Ariel said and took a deep breath. “Where should we begin?”

 

 

_An Equal_

 

“’The horn of a ri… rhiso... _rhinoceros?_ A large, herv... her-bi-vo-rous animal from Triske. It uses its horn to defend itself against large per… predators.’” Irika mumbled as she read the small information strip under a large, cone-shaped horn with cracks and chips all over. “I wish I knew what all these words mean…”

The mansion really did have way too many interesting exhibits, curios and books for one or two days; Irika would have liked at least one or two years. She’d passed a bit of time just wandering around at first, but then stumbled into a room as large and high as the one with the weird camelopard-creature had been, except this one was filled with tall shelves full of _everything._ For the first time since entering the room, Irika was able to pull herself out of the shelves for long enough to check the time. A giant grandfather clock towering on one of the walls of the room told her it was well past noon, and that Ariel had been in her meeting for almost four hours.

“Wonder if she’s been looking for me,” Irika continued talking to herself as she wandered the shelf maze back towards the direction she thought she had come from. Not only was the mansion itself huge and full of crisscrossing hallways, but this single room’s city of shelves had made Irika completely lose all sense of direction. She was quite lost. But she considered it the good kind of lost, as she was safe and surrounded with so many amazing things.

She had seen hundreds of books in many bizarre scripts she couldn’t read at all, various expensive-looking pieces of jewelry and other adornments in thick glass cases, and bits and pieces of dozens of different animals and beasts, including a full set of dragon horns from each of the major colors.She had even walked past a couple of artifacts that had looked unimpressive on the surface, but made her teeth tingle as she’d walked closer, which had made her believe them magical.

Those were the ones that were still topmost in her mind, as she wandered along the nearest hallway she’d found, hoping it would lead her closer to the foyer. She had never seen or held a magical artifact other than – as it had turned out – her mother’s ring, and the ring hardly responded to her magic in any way. Which made sense, since its purpose had evidently been specifically to protect her mother from her magic. Irika had read and heard stories about powerful magical tools which allowed a sorcerer to amplify her magic tenfold. She still felt slightly terrified of her own powers even at their normal level, but a part of her mind was immensely curious, exhilarated even, at the thought of so much amplified power. Defeating a dragon or two would probably be child’s play with a tool like that.

Irika almost walked into a door that opened in front of her. A very short girl dressed in a long, black dress with a frilly white apron stepped out of the door backwards, carrying a heavy bucketful of coal. For once Irika actually had to look down to meet someone’s eyes, as the girl’s mouth opened in horror at the sight of her.

“Oh, I’m so sorry ma’am! I wasn’t lookin’ where I was goin’!” the girl whose garb and manner screamed ‘maid’ stammered, dropped the bucket of coal and bowed deeply. A handful of coals popped out of the bucket and onto the ornate crimson carpet underfoot.

For the first time since changing clothes Irika wondered just _how_ different she must look to others in her borrowed blue dress, seeing as nobody in the world would ever have called her ‘ma’am’ in her previous humble outfit and face caked with dirt. She felt like a few weeks ago she would probably have been calling this maid girl ‘ma’am’ instead.

“It’s alright! I wasn’t paying _any_ attention to where I was going,” Irika responded and picked up some of the coals that had rolled at her feet.

“Please, ma’am, leave ‘em to me, don’ dirty yer hands!” the maid yammered, panic starting to rise in her voice.

Irika felt a churning mix of amusement, annoyance and appreciation for the situation. She definitely didn’t deserve to be treated like an honored guest, but at the same time it felt novel. At any other point in her life she would’ve been instructed to pick up the coals, not pled _not_ _to_ pick them up. She chose to ignore the maid girl’s exasperated outburst, picked up the rest of the coals on her side of the bucket and carefully set them on top of the pile.

“It’s fine! A month ago I was gathering firewood for a living and other stuff like that. And just last night I was exterminating goblins. Getting my hands dirty is nothing new to me,” she responded and smiled at the maid. Her stature was small and her face fairly young, but Irika reckoned she was at least in her late teens. Or at least the chest of the maid’s dress and apron were stretched significantly tighter than anything Irika had ever worn.

The maid’s eyes widened comically at Irika’s statement. “A fair lady like you went killin’ goblins?!”

Irika laughed. Being called a ‘fair lady’ was just too much. She patted her coaled hands together and wiped them on her dress. Realization hit her half a second later. “Oh crud, the dress! It’s borrowed from the Lady, what do I do!?”

The maid goggled at her. She seemed to be processing multiple things at once, with her mouth hanging slighly open. “Borrowed from the _Lady?_ The Lady of the mansion _herself?”_

“Yeah. I’m here with a…” Irika had to stop and ponder for a moment. “With a friend,” she concluded, not entirely satisfied with her answer. All things considered, her and Ariel’s relationship felt more complicated than that in every possible way. “She’s the one who’s Lady Hilders’ guest, I’m just an extra. Our clothes were all grimy from the goblin exterminating I mentioned before, so we got loaners.”

The maid’s face lit up in recognition. “Oh! I was scrubbin’ some clothes yesterday evenin’, they were all bloody like. Some armor too. Oh, and there were a couple real pretty swords, but the guards picked ‘em up for safekeepin’. One almos’ couldn’ lift the big one up and cut himself a little tryin’.” She smiled, frowned and shivered in quick succession. “Some of the other maids were comin’ up with stories about what happened to ‘em, made me squeazy they did. Said two people had duelled to death or somethin’.”

Irika laughed again. The thought of dueling Ariel was ridiculous and would certainly end with a set of bloody sorceress’ clothes. “If it was a blue linen outfit, that’s mine. And if there were clothes and armor for a really tall person, that’s my friend.”

“Them’s the ones! Oh, thank goodness, I almos’ lost my sleep ‘cause I was thinkin’ I'd been washin' the clothes of dead people,” the maid said, looking thoroughly relieved. She glanced at the black smudges in Irika’s fancy dress and nodded to herself. “Coal stains are no problem, ma’am, we can get ‘em out. I’m pretty sure your own clothes are all dried up, if you wanna change?”

“What’s your name? You can call me Irika,” Irika said. Being called ‘ma’am’ was getting old.

“M-mine? I’m Amanda, ma-”

“Please just call me Irika,” she interjected. “I’m not a ma’am of any sort. Nice to meet you, Amanda!” And she meant it. She had never really talked with a person this close to her own age for this long. The fact that Amanda was a servant made Irika think they would have a lot in common as well.

“M-Miss Irika? Is that alright? The head maid would whip my ears if she heard me talkin’ to a guest without respect, she would.”

“That’s fine. Whip your ears?” Irika wondered.

“Yep, that’s her favorite punishment for misconduct. Only had it done to me once but I don’ wanna have it done again.” Amanda rubbed her ears absent-mindedly, picked up the bucket and glanced at Irika. “That bein’ said, can… can we walk an’ talk? I’m a bit late on fireplace duty.”

“Sure! I was actually supposed to meet my friend about two hours ago, but we didn’t really specify a meeting point and I’m… I’m actually a bit lost.” Irika scratched her cheek, her explanation sounding haphazard even to herself. Amanda stared at the spot she’d touched. Irika looked at her still coaled hands and sighed. “I guess I’ll need a bath at some point too.”

“The guest bath is bein’ cleaned, I think they said it’s gonna be till the evenin'. You could use the servant bath, though. It’s a bit small but real comfy,” Amanda said, her face lighting up. “I could say a guest requested me to prepare her bath and get out of fireplace duty!” She looked at Irika excitedly, but deflated immediately. “I-I mean, if you want to, miss.”

Irika giggled. It felt weird being on the side of the conversation that didn’t get embarrassed because of every single exaggerated emotion or slip of the tongue. No doubt their roles would be reversed if Amanda were another guest instead of a maid, and Irika was glad she wasn’t. She felt that they could definitely be friends, a thought that felt completely alien but so very welcome.

“I do want to. Is... What's the servant bath like? Would- would it be possible to bathe in private?” Irika asked carefully. She felt awkward for asking, but she didn't feel like revealing her scarred body to any more people for now.

“Sure it would. It's big enough for about ten people but nobody's gonna use it until nightfall.” The maid still looked a bit timid in Irika's presence. “You sure you won't mind usin’ a servant bath?” She asked.

“Not even a little bit. I used to bathe in a pail sometimes, any bath is luxury for me,” Irika replied. “The guest bath was… Honestly, it was a bit too much. I think I prefer the pail.” She felt heat creeping up on her cheeks at the thought of the bathing session of the previous night, but refused to let it turn into another full blown blush.

Amanda let out a small laugh. “I know what you mean, first time I saw the servant bath I couldn’ believe it was for _servants._ I thought the head maid had accident’ly brought me to the guest bath instead. But it doesn’ feel so big when there’s twelve maids in it.”

“You don’t get to bathe alone, then?” Irika asked. She found herself genuinely curious about the work and life of a manor servant. There were no manors or otherwise large establishments in the part of Brunn where she had grown up, so whatever serving work she had done had been temporary oddjobs for small business owners.

“Oh heavens, no. Us maids get about an hour off after evenin’ shift and before either the night shift or sleepin’ time. Can’t be late from the night shift and nobody wants to squander their sleepin’, most of us don’ get enough of it anyways ‘cause we always start gossipin’ in bed. Oh, and we gotta squeeze dinner in there, too.” Amanda puffed. Her breathing had been getting slightly heavier as they walked on, and soon enough she stopped and set down the bucketful of coal. “Phew. Sorry, miss. The other maids always make fun of me before fireplace duty ‘cause they know I’m not too fit for it,” she said and smiled sheepishly.

“I’ll carry it for a while,” Irika said and picked up the bucket before Amanda could protest. It was fairly heavy but nothing Irika couldn’t handle; and she had the height advantage on the short maid besides.

“But… but… Oh, I hope the head maid won’ see us, I do...” Amanda said, glancing behind her. “Thank you, though. You wouldn’ believe how weird it looks to have an important guest be all smudgy and carryin’ coal!” she added.

Irika giggled again. “I can well imagine, actually. I’ve done plenty of serving sort of work in the past, not for any big manor, though.”

And again Amanda goggled at her. “I’m startin’ to think you’re actually a new servant who’s just stolen some guest clothes if you keep talkin’ like that!”

They both laughed as they reached what Irika recognized was the entrance hall; except they emerged in a small cubby behind the grand staircase. Amanda was about to lead them through another nearby doorway when Irika noticed Ariel marching out of one of the large hallways with three uniform-clad men, one of whom Irika recognized as the friendly guardsman from the previous night.

“Oh, it’s my friend! Hang on a second, I’ll be right back,” Irika said, set down the bucket of coal and made towards Ariel. She was talking animatedly with the guardsmen; Irika caught some words about a plan that involved sneaking before she caught up to her and tapped her lightly on the arm.

“Oh, hey Irika! Whoa, what happened to your dress?” Ariel asked, staring at the black hand-shaped smudges.

“Oh, um. Coal accident. I’m gonna get it washed, don’t worry!” Irika said and patted at the smudges, managing to make the dress even dirtier. “Anyway, is your meeting still ongoing?” she asked, glancing at the guardsmen who had stopped to wait for Ariel. She gave them a small bow, and the men nodded and smiled back at her.

“Yeah, we were about to go and iron out the fine details over lunch. Do you want to join us?” Ariel responded and looked down at the dress again. “Then again, maybe you should sort that out first, huh.”

Irika grimaced and looked down at her sooty dress. “Yep, that I should. Apparently our traveling clothes are all ready so I’m going to take a quick bath and change. I’ll join you then if you’re still lunching. Err, having lunch. Oh, I made a new friend by the way!” She turned and waved at Amanda who was standing in the cubby with the coal bucket, horrified that high-ranking attention was being brought unto her.

Ariel smiled and waved at Amanda, who gave an uncertain little wave back. Irika couldn’t help giggling about how much of herself she saw in the maid girl.

“I’d love to say that I made three new friends, but they’re more like… fans of mine? It’s surprisingly hard to make actual friends when you’re famous,” Ariel whispered and grinned at Irika.

“Good thing I’m so open-minded even though I know the _real you_ , huh?” Irika grinned right back and earned a poke in the forehead from the knight. “Ow! Maybe you should try anyway, friends are a nice thing to have.” The last part came out more earnestly than Irika had intended.

Ariel’s smile was warm as she ruffled Irika’s hair. “You’re right. Thanks for the advice. I’ll wait for you at lunch.”

“Deal, see you in a bit!” Irika gave the three guardsmen a small wave and skipped back towards Amanda. Her steps felt lighter than they had ever been, both proverbially and literally. She felt amazed at how much a rich, safe environment and a full stomach could affect her in this short of a timespan. The small nagging voice about some pursuers and something about some trouble outside the manor had been pushed away by the sheer awe towards everything in this manor, and even though rationally Irika knew that it would come to an end very soon, emotionally she didn’t feel anywhere near ready to give it up yet.

She couldn’t help but feel that once she stepped out of the doors of this manor, she would never experience a peaceful life like this again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life stuff, then lost inspiration for a while, then video games happened. You know how it goes!  
> As much as I'd love to keep up a constant flow of chapters, it's turned out pretty likely that I can't. So from now on my release schedule will be "Eventually™"


	15. The Captain and the Commandment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Too many captains make a pretty decent broth! Also some shock to treat shock and so on.

 

_Routine_

 

For the first time in over a year Ariel felt like she was truly back at work. Whether it was fate or coincidence that her current mission was eerily similar to her last one, she wasn’t sure. There was something about the thought of facing down the same kind of beast that had cost her so much that nagged the part of her mind which preferred clear logic. The longer she spent planning the mission, the more sure she felt that she wanted to be personally involved.

Gryphons were extremely rarely seen outside their natural habitat in the mountains, and were regarded as bringers of misfortune by many. Much like dragons, they were akin to creatures from fairytales for the general populace of Stenning. This sentiment was echoed by the captains of the guard, as they had gushed on about folklore and legend in what Ariel had thought would be a rational strategy meeting. Her commander’s instincts had kicked in almost immediately, and she had taken control of the planning to no-one’s objection.

Soon enough she had learned the true extent of all the inconveniences of commanding a militia rather than a military unit. The personnel, according to the captains, was well trained enough to handle an orc raid or three, but only within the confines of the city of Hilders and its immediate surroundings. They had never planned an offensive in the wilderness, or rather, an offensive anywhere at all. Furthermore, most of the men and women in the militia shared the same sentiments as their captains, and were hesitant to face a creature that was commonly known as a ‘legendary beast’.

Yet, according to captain Wackner, Lady Hilders insisted that they take care of the situation with ‘minimal help from the outside’ and 'as swiftly as humanly possible'. A story Ariel had heard many times; a prideful decision from the person in power, which would more than likely lead to loss and ruin. She couldn’t blame the Lady for a certain lack of prudence, though, seeing as a stray gryphon was both a major aspect of terror for the townsfolk living in the Hilders periphery, as well as a concrete financial hazard regarding all the livestock lost as its prey. Violent and unpredictable creatures as they were, gryphons could slaughter an entire herd of cows only to take just one or two for their food.

Ariel couldn’t imagine changing the Lady’s mind enough to contract more help from the Mercenary State, and there was her own situation with the State to consider, too. It was an annoying puzzle, which felt somehow novel and exciting. Like trying to solve a difficult problem with extremely limited resources, as opposed to the abundant manpower and materiel of the Mercenary State.

The first and foremost shortcoming regarding the plan of action at large was the lack of intelligence. ‘Gryphon sighting’ was hardly enough to go with, since the location of the beast's roost was just an approximation, and the gryphon's size alone would determine whether they should use pikes or ballistae against it. Lady Hilders had said that the creature was not as large as the one Ariel had faced, but the information provided by the captains could neither confirm nor deny the claim. Ariel much doubted that whoever had seen the gryphon could have reliably told whether it was a particularly small or a particularly large specimen anyway, given their extreme rarity.

Ariel still felt oddly jittery at the thought of fighting another gryphon. The feeling was completely alien and she wanted to do away with it, which was a significant reason for her suggestion at the lunch table. “I'll do the scouting. I want to see this thing with my own eyes before finalizing a plan to take it down.”

The three captains all stared at her. “We do have skilled and trustworthy runners, if...” Jonas, the Cuan liaison began before Ariel cut him off.

“I'll do it. I have a feeling that I should do it.” She wouldn't have been able to explain her gut feeling rationally, so she didn't attempt to. All she knew was that she needed to face this creature herself, either for her past or for her future, or possibly both. “And I'll do it today. We can hatch a plan overnight and prepare to take it down tomorrow.”

“So soon? I know that the Lady insisted on soon, but...” captain Wackner glanced at the other captains.

“The sooner the better, right?” Ariel said and tapped her fingers on the table impatiently. “Assuming the creature isn't quite as humongous as the one I fought before, the same approach should work just fine. Our mistake last time was hubris and carelessness. I will not allow for it again.” The statement was aimed entirely at herself, but made the four captains visibly straighten up regardless, as if they had been a part of the State operation a year ago.

“Right you are. The Lady _did_ request all possible haste with the matter. We can arrange a small contingent of militia members as guides and guards,” captain Wackner said and the other captains nodded.

Ariel pondered for a moment. “The less people the better. Gryphons have _very_ good eyesight and they’re rather intelligent too. If they spot a group of people heading towards their roost they will never lead them to it. One runner skilled in stealthy travel will be enough for a guide.”

Captain Wallander stared at Ariel incredulously. “I know that you’re very skilled, but against such a beast… are you sure that two people…”

“Three. My companion will join us as well. She’ll be ten times my worth in terms of staying unnoticed and noticing things that need to be noticed.” Ariel smiled to herself, imagining Irika blushing furiously at the compliment as she usually did. “Besides, it’s not like we’re going to fight it, not yet.”

“Your… companion? Not the little girl in the blue dress? The friend of the maid?” Captain Wallander’s eyes were as round as they went.

Ariel felt a small pang of annoyance before remembering that she’d been belittling Irika for most of their journey too. “Yep. I assure you she’s more than capable, if a little inexperienced.”

Captain Wackner nodded fervently. “Judging by the amount of goblin blood she was covered with last night, I’m inclined to believe you. I’ll talk to one of the mansion’s runners, I think I have just the man for the job.”

Captain Wallander humphed and crossed his arms. “And don’t I know which kid you mean. He always sneaks past our night guard before checking himself in or out just to show off.”

The other captains chuckled at what Ariel felt was another somewhat alarming statement. Either this runner was particularly good, or the Hilders night guard was disturbingly haphazard. She quietly hoped for the former. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll wait here for my companion since we made plans earlier. We’ll check in at the mansion’s front guard station within the hour.”

The captains nodded, saluted Ariel and each other, and left. Ariel hailed the waiter over and ordered herself and Irika some food. She had a feeling Irika wouldn’t complain about her choice of lunch, seeing as the perpetually hungry sorceress usually ate with such gusto that Ariel doubted she even had the time to properly taste anything in the first place.

 

* * *

 

“So, we’re just going to find it, right? Not fight it?” Irika asked as the pair stepped out of the main doors of the Hilders mansion. She was glancing nervously at Ariel’s left shoulder. It wasn’t hard to deduce the reason for her apprehension.

“Yes, just reconnaissance. It means scouting things out,” Ariel added, following Irika’s puzzled look. “We’ll get a guide from the guard, and the three of us will go check out where the gryphon is and how big it is, and then return.”

“Alright. Sounds simple enough,” Irika said, failing to sound entirely sure.

Ariel patted her head bracingly. “Once gryphons settle on a new roost, they tend to stay in the general vicinity for hunting and such. If we find the roost, we’ll find the gryphon, or vice versa. Assuming it doesn’t notice us and flee. _”_ _“Or attack,”_ she finished the thought to herself. Ariel didn’t want to make Irika any more nervous than she already was.

Irika nodded, but didn’t question the plan any further. Soon enough they were at the mansion’s guard station, wherein captain Wackner was waiting with a short, young man dressed in a farmhand’s garb. They were in the middle of animated discussion as Ariel knocked on the doorframe.

“Oh, hello! That was fast!” captain Wackner exclaimed and stood up. “Alex my boy, let me introduce you to Sir Ariel and lady Irika, who will be helping us with our big, feathery problem. This is Alex, our swiftest runner.”

The young man stood up as well and nodded at the two women, craning his neck to goggle up at Ariel. She eyed the scrawny-looking man up and down, and noticed that he was barefoot.

“Nice to meet you,” Alex said. He sounded even younger than he looked.

“I heard you like to play the gate guards for fools?” Ariel asked, taking a few steps towards the young man and scrunching her brow, looking him straight in the eye.

Alex flinched slightly but stood his ground. “I- I know the city and the surroundings really well, so… I know how to get in and out without anyone noticing.” His voice shook a little but he didn’t shirk under Ariel’s penetrating gaze.

Ariel relaxed her threatening face into a smile and patted Alex on the shoulder. “Good man. We need someone with a bit of nerve. Don’t let this one defect, he’ll be a pain in your ass if you do, if he's as good as you say he is,” she added to Wackner with a grin.

Captain Wackner threw his head back and laughed, his belly jiggling with mirth. “I’ll say! Don’t worry, we pay good for talent. Don’t let his ‘uniform’ fool you, Alex says it’s for making him look more forgettable.”

“It works!” Alex piped in, sounding extremely relieved. “People don’t care about farm workers, whether it’s guards or bandits.” He lifted up one of his feet and pointed at it. “If I’m not even wearing shoes, what could I possibly have worth checking or stealing?” Ariel noticed Irika nodding keenly at her side.

“And I imagine going barefoot will make you more silent, too,” Ariel said and clanked one of her boots on the floor for effect. “You may have to do some solo recon depending on where the gryphon’s roost is. We’ll be counting on you.”

Alex nodded excitedly. “Glad to be of help! I really want to see a legendary beast!”

“Just don’t get _too_ close. You might end up like this.” Ariel flung her shoulder cape over and turned her left shoulder towards Alex.

The youngster’s smile vanished in an instant as his face petrified into an amusing grimace. Irika snorted quietly. “Sorry. It’s just… sorry,” she said.

“ _Never gets old,”_ Ariel thought to herself.

Alex looked at Irika who was now giggling into her hand, then at Ariel who beamed down at him. A small, uncertain smile returned to his face. “It’s… It’s not a trick, is it?” he asked shakily.

“Nope. Arm’s gone. Taken by one of those ‘legendary creatures’ that we’re going to go see right now,” Ariel said and shook her cape back over her missing arm. “Don’t worry though, we only need you for your guidance, and your eyes. We will be doing no fighting today.”

Alex didn’t look entirely convinced as he gulped and gave a mechanical nod. Irika seemed significantly more relaxed, though.

“We’re all set up, any preparations you need to do before we leave?” Ariel asked.

Alex shook his head and picked up a light shoulder pack that was hanging on the backrest of a chair. “Nope, I’ve got everything I need here. Rations for half a day, some bandages and salve, whistle and spyglass.”

“You have a spyglass?” Ariel couldn’t hid the surprise in her voice.

“Yes, saved up for quite a while to get it. Captain Wackner here got it for me through his connections with the various merchants who visit the Lady every now and then.”

Captain Wackner nodded and smiled. “That being said, if you two ever need anything that can’t be found in the city, I may be able to help.”

“What’s a spyglass?” Irika asked, recoiling a little as everyone turned to look at her.

“It’s a-“ Ariel and Alex started at the same time. Alex looked extremely excited for the split second before realizing he had cut off someone who outranked his captain. Ariel motioned at him to continue.

Alex held up a finger and dug the spyglass out of his pack. It was a cylindrical tube that was about eight inches long, two inches thick and had a curved glass disc on both ends, which reflected odd patterns of light onto the floor and the ceiling. “It’s a tool to see further. Try it out!” He handed the spyglass to Irika who gingerly took it and held it like a newborn child. “Look through the smaller end and point it at something far away.”

Irika did as instructed and her mouth opened in wonder almost immediately. Ariel had to suppress a giggle. It never stopped being amusing how amazing the sorceress found most things.

“I can see so clearly! It looks like that house is right next to me!” she said in an awestruck voice and turned the spyglass to point at different things in turn. She turned it at Ariel’s face and snorted. Ariel poked her in the forehead.

“Spyglasses have made scouting and guard duty much easier, but they’re really difficult to make. Or so I’ve heard. There are apparently only a handful of people who know how to mold glass into the shape that allows you to see further,” Ariel explained as Irika returned the device to Alex, gazing at it reverently and rubbing her forehead. “The Mercenary State has its own expert glassmakers of course, and all of our border guard stations have a spyglass or two at their disposal. As far as I know, they’re still really rare outside militaries.”

Alex nodded. “Yep. I had to pay three years’ worth of savings for this. But I consider it a good investment as it helps me be the best scout in the city.”

Irika managed to look even more impressed as she stared at the instrument. _“Three years?_ For that little thing?”

“The most valuable items are usually either the largest, most powerful things or the smallest, most delicate things. Just think of jewelry and the craftsmanship that goes into making them,” Ariel said. Irika closed her mouth and glanced at Ariel’s right hand. Both of their thoughts had apparently jumped to the ring that was wrapped around Ariel’s little finger. It was by no means a beautiful piece of jewelry, but the fact that it was magically enchanted made it more valuable than Irika probably even realized.

Both Ariel and Irika twitched slightly as captain Wackner slapped his hands together. Alex eyed the two women curiously.

“The gate guards have been informed of your mission. Head past The Traveler’s Domain and check out at the north gate. Alex will take it from there,” the captain said and smiled at the three of them. “Godspeed, and don’t take any unnecessary risks. Err, sir.” He looked at Ariel sheepishly, straightened up slightly and nodded.

“It’s fine. And we won’t. Strictly recon,” Ariel replied. She definitely had no desire to lose her other arm in another botched mission. A small shiver ran through her again, all the way from her scalp to her toes. She gritted her teeth and balled her fist to fight it down. Irika was eyeing her with a slightly concerned look on her face.

“Let’s head out, then!” Ariel said, having to work surprisingly hard to keep her voice from shivering too. Something was definitely wrong with her, and the damned gryphon was definitely behind it all.

 

 

_The Depth of Resolve_

 

Alex was moving amazingly quietly a couple dozen yards in front of Irika and Ariel, making sure to keep in their line of sight at all times, which was not easy in the thickening forest. Irika was certain that this wasn’t a skill a regular courier would usually possess – then again, Alex did say that he strove to be the very best in the city. She was equal parts impressed and jealous of the young man’s talent. How useful it would have been to be able to move about this silently and swiftly back in the alleyways of Brunn.

Then again, right now it wouldn’t have mattered if Irika were twice as quiet as Alex, seeing as she was walking next to a person who didn’t have a quiet bone in her body. Ariel had almost immediately given up trying to move about silently, with her metallic boots crushing every twig and stone underfoot and her giant sword clattering against branches and rocks every so often.

They had decided that it was better for Alex to move on ahead and give them a signal if they needed to stop. No doubt a well-trained knight like Ariel _could_ move silently even in her half-plate, but in the interest of time and saving up strength for the journey, their plan was the more optimal one.

The city of Hilders had long since vanished into the woods behind them as they very slowly ascended towards the foot of the mountains that marked the border between Stenning and Cuan. According to Ariel, the mountains were still at least a day or two’s travel away, but some of the higher peaks were still hazily visible from amidst the tree boughs whenever their trail descended into a small valley or opened into a clearing. Irika could only imagine how tall the greatest peaks must have been from closer up. The mountain range south of Brunn was sheer rather than extremely tall; Irika had admired a famous painting of Brunn from the plateau above many times in the city library.

Ariel and the captains had agreed on taking the straighter, narrower, less traveled footpath over the wider trade route towards the border, as it would cut their travel time to the gryphon’s alleged roost almost in half. Irika wasn’t quite sure whether she should feel safe or not; Ariel had told her that the main trade route was significantly more patrolled but also saw significantly more orc activity than the various footpaths between the farmsteads and orchards of the greater Hilders periphery.

Irika wasn’t sure how long they had traveled due to the cloudy skies, but after a good while of keeping up their pace the trail hit the corner of a large apple orchard. Alex had stopped to wait for the other two at the wooden fence encircling the stead. “About two hours yet from here at our pace. We should take a short break,” he said and took a swig from his waterskin. Ariel and Irika mirrored him. Ariel dug out three small pieces of something from her pack.

“Oh… It’s been a while, huh,” Irika said recognizing the small fabric-wrapped slabs. She couldn’t say she had missed Ariel’s travel rations, but at least they were very portable and efficient.

“You mean to tell me that you prefer the five-star cooking of the Hilders mansion over these?” Ariel said in a mock-offended tone, waved a ration bar at Irika, humphed and lifted her nose away from her.

“Oh no never I’d cross the earth and the seas for these,” Irika said in perfect monotone as she unwrapped the grayish ration bar from the fabric and took a bite. It wasn’t as bad as she had remembered.

Alex was eyeing his portion curiously. “Rations? What’s in these?”

“Human meat,” Irika blurted out before Ariel could respond. Alex looked at Irika, then at Ariel in alarm. Ariel nodded and grinned, her teeth gray with the mushy travel bar. Irika almost choked on her ration as she started laughing.

Alex’s face went stony as he murmured something under his breath and took a nibble out of the corner of the bar. “Hey, not bad. And you two are way too good at pulling my leg. Are you sisters or something?” He looked at Irika, then at Ariel who raised an eyebrow.

“Do we _look_ like sisters?” she said and took a theatrically manly bite out of her food bar.

Alex shrugged. “Don’t have to be blood related to be siblings. I’ve got eight of em and most of us are not from the same parents. Or at least so I think. Caspar and Loren look way too similar to not be brother and sister, though and they act the part to a T too. Bickering all the time. But we can’t really tell officially cause there’s no records. We’re all orphans, see.”

“Orphans? In Hilders?” Irika couldn’t help but wonder aloud. Her conscience immediately reprimanded her for the rude question again. Of course any city would have some form of institution for children who didn’t have anyone to care for them.

“Yep. Though I imagine the one in Hilders is way better funded than most. Can’t say growing up was too difficult, I’ve heard horrible stories from elsewhere,” Alex said and shuddered a little. “Horrible stories...”

Irika nodded to herself but Alex seemed to have noticed as he nodded too. Some kind of a short, silent understanding passed between them, and left Irika relieved that she wouldn’t have to feel obliged to tell about her own childhood.

“Nope, we’re not related in any way. I picked her up in western Stenning a bit less than a month back. She’s kinda like my pet,” Ariel said and pointed her thumb at Irika.

Irika nodded. “I’m so well-behaved that she let me off the leash within the first week.”

Alex chuckled and eyed them for a moment. “Then… lovers?”

Irika’s heart and brain thumped as blood rushed into her head. She opened her mouth but was cut off by a chuckle from Ariel. “That might be closer!” she said and waggled her eyebrows at Irika.

Irika’s head swam, but the biting, perpetual annoyance at her own awkward blubbering muscled through. She was thoroughly aware of her own boiling red face, but she forced a cheeky grin and waggled her eyebrows right back at Ariel. An odd, tinkling voice in her head seemed to silence the alarm bells of embarrassment.

Ariel looked taken aback for a moment before covering her mouth with her hand to suppress a splurt of laughter. “Nice! But you should leave that to the experts,” she said and chuckled behind her hand. Irika was disproportionately elated to see a small hint of a blush creeping up on Ariel’s face as well.

“Oh I am in awe at the expertise you must have garnered from all the years of flirting with your swords!” Irika said and imitated Ariel’s manly chomp of the food bar.

“Whoa!” Ariel and Alex said at the same time. They looked at each other and completely fell apart with laughter. Irika joined them.

“That... was... _good!_ ” Ariel managed to say between laughs. “I can’t even imagine what kind of a sass monster you’ll become in the future.”

Irika’s aching cheeks were still burning, but she felt thoroughly pleased with herself. She would never forget the moment when she finally won one over Ariel.

 

* * *

 

The next hour and a half passed again in silent travel. Ariel redoubled her efforts to move about quietly as they finally reached the general area of where the gryphon had been seen several days ago. Everyone’s eyes were glued to the skies whenever they weren’t checking for obstacles on the path. Now that their footfalls weren’t so obvious anymore, the forest suddenly seemed much more full of life than before, so much so that Irika felt a gryphon or two could easily be squawking with the other birds and they wouldn’t be able to tell. Not that she knew what a gryphon call sounded like.

Soon enough Irika and Ariel saw Alex crouching up against a tree and giving the hand signal to stop. They pressed themselves low and shuffled towards the spot Alex was looking at. It was a small clearing, overshadowed by the thick canopy above. In the middle of the clearing there was a large, odd whirl of branches, bones and hay, with various scraps of meat and animal parts lying here and there.

“The roost,” Ariel whispered to Irika and looked up. Irika followed suit, her heart suddenly hammering in her throat. She almost jumped out of her skin when Alex’s whisper came from right next to them. She hadn’t noticed him approach at all.

“I’m assuming that’s its nest? Looks like it’d fit a bear or two but I’ve never heard of bears making nests like that, or nesting outside caves,” he said, glancing rapidly between the roost, the sky and Ariel.

“Yes. Now we wait. Judging by the size of the roost it’s a big one, but not quite as big as the one I fought before. We need to make sure,” Ariel said.

Irika was now certain that she heard Ariel’s voice waver. She thought she had imagined the previous time back at the Hilders guard station, but this time it was clear. A profound sense of dread rose from the pit of Irika’s stomach. Was this Ariel’s usual excitement for battle, or something else?

Only a scant ten minutes passed before Alex and Ariel went taut and looked in the same direction at the same time. Irika’s neck hair stood up as she heard the heavy wingbeats issuing from above, stopping momentarily directly on top of the nest and then slowly descending until the beast itself came into view.

The gryphon was enormous, at least half again as tall and long as a draft horse, with a wingspan too wide to fully fit into the clearing, as it gracefully fell down the last dozen feet and landed in its roost with a resounding thud. Irika couldn’t fathom how this beast could possibly have been smaller than the one Ariel had fought, as she resisted the urge to just scamper up and flee with every fiber of her being. She glanced at Ariel by her side and noticed that the knight was petrified, staring at the beast with glazed eyes.

“Ariel?” Irika whispered and gently touched her shoulder to no reaction. A single, sharp clinking sound like a key falling onto the floor echoed in Irika’s mind as Alex let out a horrified gasp next to her.

“RUN!” He bellowed and turned tail towards the direction they had come from. The gryphon let out a horrifying shriek and started advancing swiftly towards the spot where Irika and Ariel were crouching. Irika jumped up onto her feet and took a step after Alex. Ariel was not moving a muscle, but was instead still staring at the gryphon with her mouth slightly open.

“Come on! ARIEL!” Irika shouted, turned back and pulled the knight’s arm towards the path. Ariel sat on her heels as if transfixed, still staring, her muscular arm shaking violently in Irika’s grasp as she pulled with all of her might, unable to make her move.

Irika had no idea which part of her brain made the decision as she whirled in front of Ariel, pushed her down into the mossy undergrowth, stood up between her and the gryphon and spread her arms. “GO AWAY!” she screamed at the beast, staring into its huge, green eyes. A large orb of flame whizzed over Irika’s arm and hit the gryphon straight in the face.

“Pull back, run! Ariel, get a godsdamn grip!” a rough male voice sounded from the direction of the path. Sir Tolmann, the head of the pursuer party sent after Irika dashed forth from the forest, brandishing a halberd and pushing down the visor on his helmet. “GO!” he screamed.

Irika would have loved to obey the Landsknecht, but she was not about to leave Ariel laying there. She sat down atop the knight's half plate and slapped her hard in the face. “SNAP OUT OF IT!” she yelled. Ariel’s glazed eyes focused on Irika’s.

Irika had felt this once before. Just before their fiasco of an arrival in Brunn.

 

“Do not kill!”

 

The words resounded in Irika’s mind like a crystal bell. She sprung up and dashed towards Sir Tolmann, who was now shouting and stabbing at the screeching beast who was trying to snap at the Landsknecht with its massive beak.

“STOP!” Irika yelled with far more force than she could ever have imagined coming out of her. A rushing sound issued outward, echoing throughout the entire nearby forest as everything went hauntingly quiet and still. Sir Tolmann jumped back from the gryphon, panting but otherwise seemingly unable to disobey the command that had left Irika’s lips. The gryphon did much the same, retreating to the opposite side of its roost, bleeding profusely from a gaping stab wound in its chest.

Irika walked past Sir Tolmann and approached the gryphon. Her previously hammering heart was now completely calm and the gentle, tinkling voice was whispering indistinct words of encouragement within her mind. The voice that had been familiar to her weeks ago now felt even more intimate, like a parent or a lover, guiding her to actions which felt so obvious, so right, but which she was too meek and too naive to take on her own.

“Girl! What are you doing!” Sir Tolmann called out behind Irika, still not moving from his combat stance some feet back. He seemed utterly perplexed by his inability to act, but to Irika it was only natural. She had commanded him, after all.

Ariel was still sitting on the ground further back, now staring at Irika rather than the gryphon, her chest visibly heaving. Irika felt a heart-rending pang of affection towards the lady knight, a pang way too strong to be anything but love. Not just attachment towards a traveling partner or gratitude towards her stalwart defender, but love towards all of her, towards an incredible woman who had saved Irika in too many ways to count. The warm, crystalline laughter in her mind roared into a crescendo as she focused on that feeling and held onto it. No more convenient little lies to cover up her immaturity. She loved Ariel and that was that.

It hurt to see Ariel like this, so helpless and shocked. No doubt her previous encounter with a gryphon had left her more deeply scarred than she herself had realized, but at this moment there was nothing Irika could do to help. This was an undertaking for Ariel herself to take. As strong as she was, she was still human, and had weaknesses like every other living, breathing being of flesh and bones in this land. Irika knew this much more profoundly than she could explain; she knew that the weakness of humanity had led to hundreds of wars and the deaths of millions, but she also knew that said weakness was the driving force of humanity, and the reason why man was such a pure, admirable creature.

If anyone in the world could prevail over their weakness, it would be Ariel. She would rise again, a hundred times stronger. But Irika had to go. She could not wait for Ariel to come to terms with her past, not now. The events had finally aligned to bring her to this place.

She turned back to the gryphon, who was now weakly bowing its head toward her. She walked up to it and stroked its neck gently, crooning to soothe the beast’s anguish. She brought her hand against the bleeding wound on the gryphon’s chest and closed it without a thought. The gryphon let out a growl from deep in its throat, and Irika knew that it was deeply grateful, not threatening like every other human would have assumed. The gryphon laid down on its stomach and let Irika jump onto its back, settling just behind its wings and locking her legs around its sides.

“I-Irika… Irika!” Ariel’s voice came, first weak, then slightly stronger from behind Sir Tolmann, who had now dropped his stance and was staring at the gryphon in awe.

Irika smiled sadly at Ariel. “I have to go.” She didn’t have to yell for her words to reach her.

“No…! IRIKA!” Ariel yelled and struggled onto her feet.

Irika’s heart wrenched again, but the tinkling voice embraced her from within.

 

“You will meet again.”

 

The voice came clearer than ever, and Irika could tell that Ariel heard it too, as she flinched and frantically looked around for its source.

“I promise,” Irika said. Ariel’s eyes met hers one last time, as the gryphon beat its mighty wings, lifted off the ground and turned towards the mountains.

“I promise,” Irika whispered to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Chrimbas everyone! Prep stuff at work really ate into writing time. Hoping to write a lot during this holiday season!


	16. The Promise and the Pursuit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turns out PTSD isn't always as obvious as you'd think. But fear not! Ariel has already completely forgotten her original mission in lieu of more important things!

 

 _The_ _Bigger Picture_

 

Ariel watched the gryphon carry Irika over the treetops and disappear beyond her line of sight in slow motion. Her mind was desperately trying to cope with what had happened in the past five minutes. The gryphon had landed, seen them and attacked, and the next thing Ariel knew was Irika sitting on top of it, about to disappear from her life.

Ariel wanted to scream after Irika but she felt breathless, like she’d been bludgeoned in the stomach with a battering ram. The appearance of the gryphon had wiped all reason out of her head and left nothing but abject dread and the certainty that she would die then and there, as the beast came to claim what it had failed to a year ago.

Ariel barely registered the feeling of a hand resting on her shoulder, and it took forever for her eyes to recognize the face it belonged to, or the fact that he was talking. Sir Tolmann was standing next to Ariel, looking worried and moving his mouth. The deafening ringing that had filled Ariel’s head gave no way to his words.

“ _...mise.”_

A crystalline echo of Irika’s final word made Ariel jump, making her aware of parts of her body again. The ringing in her ears started to slowly subside as she arduously pulled her aching, numb legs from under her and settled into a sitting position. Sir Tolmann’s hand gave a dull squeeze on her shoulder. “...ight? Ariel? Talk to me!” The fellow knight’s voice finally gained some ground as a wave of despair crashed into the white numbness in Ariel’s mind. A violent shiver wracked her entire body as she pressed her face into the crook of her arm and bit her lip to a sharp pain and the taste of iron in her mouth.

“Sorry about this,” Tolmann’s voice said and Ariel felt the hand slip from her shoulder. A harsh, powerful tug on her chestplate lifted her off the ground and onto shaking feet. A second later a fist smashed into her cheek.

Ariel reeled back several steps, but instinct and training kicked in enough to keep her standing. Stars flashed in her eyes for but a moment, as she swiftly realized that she had drawn her broadsword and pointed it at Tolmann without thinking. The despair that had threatened to engulf her entirely had been blown away by the violent surge of adrenaline and the throbbing pain in her face.

“Whoa, I see your reflexes haven’t dulled one bit!” Tolmann said, standing a few steps further away than he had been before. “If anything you’re even faster than when you still had both of your arms.” His cocky, inappropriate grin made red hot anger flash in Ariel’s mind. Isn’t this what he had come here for? To see Irika dead or gone? As soon as she finished the thought, a hazy memory from what felt like ages ago burst forth in her mind; of Tolmann dashing between her and a gryphon. But the memory wasn’t set in the fields north of Capital City, it was in this forest. Had this just happened?

“Explain.” The command came out as a harsh bark as Ariel was frantically trying to keep herself from exploding from the jumble of emotions within. Tolmann had defended both her and Irika from the gryphon. Why? Where was the rest of his party? What should they do now?

“I will. I suggest we hurry, we’ll talk on the way. The boy can lead us back towards Hilders,” Tolmann said and pointed his thumb over his shoulder. Ariel glared at the trees behind the fellow knight and saw a terrified-looking Alex crouching behind a tree trunk. “Come,” Tolmann said and turned on his heel. Now that Ariel had managed to convince herself that Tolmann was not her enemy, she welcomed the suggestion like a lifeline. Part of her still wanted to dash madly after Irika, but amidst the tumult of fear, despair and anger, reason was finally rearing its head within Ariel’s aching skull.

Ariel sheathed her sword and beckoned Alex to follow. “It’s fine,” she said shakily as the terrified runner glanced after Tolmann, stumbling slightly as he shuffled backwards further into the undergrowth. “He’s a friend. We need to get back immediately. I need my horse, I need to go after her.” The pleading tone with which the last few words left her lips shook her slightly, but she steeled herself, punched herself in the thigh to stop her legs from shaking and followed after Tolmann.

Alex caught up moments later, visibly shivering. “What… I… What...” His words mirrored a lot of Ariel’s thoughts.

She grit her teeth trying to remember and understand exactly what the hell had happened. The appearance of the gryphon had rendered her useless. She had arrogantly thought herself better than those who had suffered mental trauma and anguish in combat; she had thought her apprehension towards facing the beast nothing but anticipation for revenge. She felt like stabbing herself in the leg just to stop the shaking every time she thought of the gryphon and the abject _fear_ it induced in her.

Ariel wasn’t supposed to be afraid of anything or anyone. She had faced the beast bravely a year ago, greatly contributed to its demise and survived, albeit physically less well off than before. That matter had been settled. Why did it come back to haunt her now? Because of her inaction, Irika was now gone.

Ariel’s heart skipped a beat as the final moments of the encounter returned to her. Irika hadn’t been _taken_ by the gryphon, she had _left_ with it. She had stood up to it, somehow convinced it to not rip her into shreds, and ridden it to the skies. How? _Why?_ How and why was any of this happening?

“S-sir?” Alex’s meek voice startled Ariel back into the present. She had to get a grip. She harshly slapped her own cheek and made Alex jump.

“I don’t know. I don’t know how or why any of this happened. But I’m going to find out.” Ariel picked up her pace to catch up with Tolmann who was striding some dozen yards in front of them. Alex followed suit.

“Why are you here?” Ariel asked the fellow Landsknecht.

“To help you,” Tolmann responded and smiled without looking at her. “Against my orders. Well, sort of. What I told you on the road to Hilders is the official story. I found some things out in Brunn that take precedence, so in the position of the King’s Guard I have opted to put off the pursuit of the sorcerer who was claimed to have attacked Brunn for now.”

“She didn’t-” Ariel began, but Tolmann cut her off.

“I know. I think Laincars does too, but I haven’t spoken with him. Honestly, I’d prefer to keep this between us for now.” Tolmann stopped and stared at Alex with his stern, deep-set eyes. “Boy, I hear that you’re the best runner that Hilders has. I want you to take a message to Erwayn as swiftly and silently as possible. Not even your Hilders superiors are to know. I will tell them that you’re on an errand for the Mercenary State, I doubt they will object. And well, not like there’s anything they can do about it even if they do, as long as you’re already en route.” Tolmann chuckled to himself.

Alex was thoroughly taken aback by the surprise mission from a State Landsknecht, but recovered surprisingly quickly. He swallowed hard. “I- is it going to be dangerous? What should I do to prepare?”

Tolmann stroked his beard and shook his head. “Not dangerous. Unless there’s a spy listening to us right now, here in the arse-end of nowhere.” he chuckled again.

Alex gulped again and looked around the forest nervously. “Alright. I’ll stop by Hilders for more rations and leave immediately. I’ll be paid well for this, yes?” Ariel was slightly impressed at the young runner’s business savvy even in the presence of two high-ranking knights and an out-of-the-blue situation.

“Naturally. The state’s coffers are very generous to those who do well by them.” Tolmann winked and pulled out a small metallic scroll case that seemed to be welded shut. “Talk to guard captain Aard at Erwayn. Keep pestering them until they let you talk to him specifically. Tell him Tolmann sent you, and he’ll take you to the right person to receive this message. Under no circumstances are you to give the message to anyone else, and if it seems like it’s going to fall into the wrong hands, you are to dispose of it immediately in any manner that you can. Is that clear?” Tolmann explained with all the authority of a commander of the State.

Alex straightened up and put a slightly shaking hand to his forehead in salute. “G-got it, sir,” he said, stowed the scroll case into his raggedy shoulder bag and rushed down the path towards Hilders.

“Good kid, hope he doesn’t run into trouble,” Tolmann said, following Alex with his eyes until he disappeared into the trees.

“Tell me everything you know. Please,” Ariel said, struggling to keep indignation out of her voice. She was more than used to being on the top of things at all times, and right now she couldn’t have felt more maddeningly out of the loop.

Sir Tolmann took a deep breath and looked Ariel straight in the eye. “I have reason to believe that Brunn is preparing for an offensive against one of the other city-states.”

Ariel goggled at Tolmann. “Offensive? Where? Why?” she asked, all of her thoughts of Irika momentarily swept out of her head by confusion.

Tolmann pulled out a notebook from his pack and handed it to Ariel. “I doubt they’d be stupid enough to assault Capital City. Hilders has nothing of worth to them and attacking Cuan would be a campaign I doubt they have the resources for.”

Ariel swiftly browsed through the booklet. It contained short, seemingly harmless interviews and a collection of notes and clues in Tolmann’s handwriting, evidently collected during his stay in Brunn. A person with less knowledge about the inter-state dealings would think it a memo for a news article or some such thing, but to Ariel there was definitely enough material to draw a pattern from between the lines. “Erwayn,” Ariel breathed. “They’re trying to usurp the throne of Stenning?”

Tolmann nodded. “That would be the most logical conclusion. You must have noticed how much the Brunn militia has grown since a year or two ago. It has long since stopped being a militia rather than a military.” He shifted uneasily and looked away from Ariel. “I also have a reason to believe that your friend didn’t escape Brunn with merely her life. I don’t know the specifics, but there was some hearsay about some dark dealings in the Brunn council… As well as mysterious disappearances of known sorcerers from the lower parts of the city, and other things that the regular guardsmen would consider a welcome change rather than alarming. Personally, I think the Brunn military might be enslaving sorcerers. And if that is true, along with this other information, it’s not hard to guess for what purpose.”

Ariel was stunned for a moment. Enslaving sorcerers? Suddenly the eagerness of the Brunn guard’s leadership to keep known sorcerers at an arm’s reach made sense to her. They certainly wouldn’t drive them out of town if they could be shackled and used for the city’s own devices later. As much as sorcery was hated among most of the general public, a single sorcerer with cursory training could be a force to be reckoned with in armed combat, not to mention a whole battalion of them forced to follow orders.

Ariel shivered as she thought what might have happened to Irika if she had stayed in Brunn. The thought of Irika returned the sense of urgency to the forefront of her mind like a whip crack. She needed to know the plans of Tolmann and his pursuit party before locking down her own. “So, what of your pursuit? What will you do now?” she asked.

“I will talk to Laincars. We split up earlier, officially I’m here to collect information from the farmers in the area. The pursuit will definitely be put off one way or another.” Tolmann pondered for a moment. “I don’t think the time is ripe to act on my findings, yet. I will hold off my report to the General King until I receive a reply from Erwayn.”

Ariel narrowed her eyes at her fellow knight. All the Landsknecht were expected to write immediate reports about everything of note to the State posthaste. “You… do you suspect State involvement?” Ariel felt dirty and treacherous for even asking, but could find no other justification for Tolmann’s decision.

“Frankly, yes. Brunn has grown far too quickly in military power for it to have gone unnoticed by our personnel who have passed through. Brunn’s termination of all of our remaining contracts half a year ago was the first warning sign, but the official statement attributed it to an overhaul of their legislative system due to their rapidly growing economy,” Tolmann said, stroking his beard. “Everyone else, the General King included, seem to believe the reports from Brunn at face value. No reports have come through to me about the increased military activity. Something doesn’t fit. I think someone might be fixing reports.”

Ariel plunged deep into the memories of her short, violent visit to Brunn. Both their arrival and departure had been much too hectic to reserve any thought for the city’s domestic issues, but now that she thought about it, something _did_ feel odd.

“The orcs… What were they doing so far south in the first place? How come no Cuan border patrol or anyone else between the border and Brunn had noticed such a large warband moving about? And how was Brunn able to react so swiftly in such numbers?” She pondered, staring at Tolmann. Pieces of her memories and Tolmann’s story were floating around in her mind, trying to find their places on the canvas that she didn’t even know had existed. She felt a slight twinge in her pride as a knight for not having regarded the events in Brunn as more important in the greater scheme of things. The well-being of her raggedy companion had taken priority at that point in their journey already. That thought caused her heart to twinge in turn.

“The orcs’ appearance was actually the main argument of the Brunn council against capturing your sorcerer friend. They said sorcery was the only logical explanation to the raid,” Tolmann replied. “They didn’t mention anything about the number of the defenders though, how many were there?”

“Hundreds. I’d estimate between two and three hundred militia against at least a hundred orcs, but probably not more than two hundred.” Ariel tried to remember the amount of flickering lights at the forest’s edge. Orcish war parties, despite their uncivilized savagery, were very organized and usually split into units, so deducing their numbers was merely difficult instead of impossible. “Irika killed at least fifty and held off the entire warband for minutes. She single-handedly saved the northern lower city from being razed to the ground. Brunn was obviously very well prepared for something, yet somehow the militia was dreadfully late to protect the outskirts.”

“That scrawny kid killed fifty orcs?” Tolmann asked with an uncharacteristically surprised expression.

“At least. She was badly wounded after the militia arrived, so I took her into the city, where they healed and detained her.” Ariel pondered for a moment. She had had plenty of time to think about Irika’s unusual magical assault on the orcs, as well as the incredible grief-stricken rampage within the guard station immediately after having had a stab wound operated on. Those two occasions stood as significant outliers to everything else that Ariel had seen the sorceress perform or talk about. She couldn’t make heads or tails about Irika’s true powers, and the sorceress herself didn’t seem to remember doing any particularly amazing feats, so Ariel had never brought it up with her. Now she wished that she had.

“We learned some alarming things about the Brunn guard and how they treat sorcerers in the lower city. It’s not at all hard for me to imagine that the guard might be enslaving them, in fact, now I’m all but positive that they are.” Ariel concluded, deciding to sidestep the issue of Irika’s strength.

Tolmann sighed. “Not something I wanted to hear confirmation to, but reassuring all the same. Perhaps my cursory investigation hasn’t been all pointless, then.” He stroked his beard as he was wont to do while thinking. “The orcs… Say they were lured into the city. Say they razed a part of Brunn that people in the higher houses would definitely consider dispensable. That would give the Brunn council a solid reason to point a finger at Cuan, as well as the Mercenary State who have many knights working border patrol.”

“To what end would they do something like that?” Ariel asked incredulously. She couldn’t even fathom the thought of a council of leaders sacrificing dozens, or possibly hundreds of their own people for anything.

“Leverage. Distraction. If they truly are planning on attacking Erwayn, or anywhere else for that matter, they can’t assume that every other city state in the country or without will sit idly without interfering. Having even a little bit of political ammunition has historically worked way too efficiently to deter nations from taking part in wars that don’t concern them directly. If all of these hypotheses and suppositions turn out to be correct, your friend may have saved much more than just the lower city of Brunn.”

Both of the knights fell silent as they marched on towards Hilders. Ariel tried her hardest to see the big picture that Tolmann had painted with his information, but her thoughts returned to Irika again and again. Soon enough they were too close to Hilders to continue on together without running the risk of being seen.

Tolmann broke the silence. “I will meet up with my party and consider our options. I’ll tell them you were seen heading deep into Cuan and that I’ll send a missive to the border patrol to keep a lookout.” He smiled a genuine smile at Ariel. “I won’t, of course, seeing as you’re probably going to race after you friend who seemed to be heading that way.”

Ariel managed to muster a weak smile at one of her oldest friends. “Thank you. I really need to go after her. I owe her way too much to leave her astray. I’ll talk to the guards in Hilders, they can corroborate your story, so that you won’t get into trouble for this,” Ariel said and saluted the fellow Landsknecht. “Really, thank you, Tolmann. You’ve always been a good friend.”

Tolmann smiled and opened his arms wide. “Don’t be such a stranger, Ariel. It’s good to see you back bright-eyed – well, more or less.” He pulled Ariel into a manly hug, making their chestplates clank together loudly. They bumped forearms in a friendly gesture, but Tolmann’s smile turned into a stern stare that Ariel recognized well. She was about to get scolded. “And as for what happened today… You could’ve taken that ugly creature. You could have sliced it to bits and prevented it from taking your friend. You’re among the best of the best. Never let your own mind cage you like that again.”

“I’ll try,” Ariel responded with a plummeting feeling in her stomach. She had never felt terror before today, but as much as it pained and aggravated her to accept it, facing down the gryphon had terrified her all the way down to her core. Why would the next encounter be any different?

Tolmann seemed to notice her apprehension as he tapped her lightly on the cheek. “Even the best of the best get cold feet – or worse – sometimes. That’s how we grow. Face it head-on and learn from it. That’s how you’ve always done things and damn me if it hasn’t been effective up until now.” The fellow knight chuckled lightly. “Honestly I’m a bit amazed at how far you’ve gotten for being such a bonehead.”

“Hey!” Ariel cried out and punched Tolmann on the shoulder. “I resent that. It’s absolutely true, but I resent it.”

Tolmann laughed and patted Ariel’s back. For a brief moment she felt like back in their training days, but the oppressing present drove away the thought almost immediately.

“The others of my party should still be patrolling the roads to the northwest and southeast of Hilders, so you should be able to return to the city unnoticed from the north,” Tolmann said. “I must return to Brunn at some point to snoop around some more.”

Ariel almost chuckled despite her distress. ‘Snooping around’ was definitely not the first thing that would come to most people’s minds regarding the esteemed Landsknecht. But Tolmann had always been as good, if not better, with people, information and planning as Ariel had been with the martial side of knighthood.

“If anyone can find out the truth, it’d be you Tolmann. If Brunn truly is hatching an offensive against Erwayn, count me in for the good parts. Me and Irika both, that is. We have a bone to pick.”

Tolmann smiled, nodded and turned without saying another word. He left down a side path heading west, while Ariel resumed the trek back towards south to Hilders. The resurfaced thoughts of Irika hastened her steps until she was running.

 

 

_Chase After What Matters_

 

Ariel chose to ignore the mud that splattered her boots, legplates and everything else within a three-foot radius as she strode towards the Hilders manor. Rain had started beating down as she had hit the city periphery, but it could have been raining camelopards for all she cared. She needed to report in, grab her horse and go. She had lost way too much ground to Irika’s flight as is; the longer she waited the harder it would get to trace her path towards the north, and it was practically impossible already.

Ariel walked straight into the guard station without knocking. Captain Wackner was sitting at the reception desk, reading a news sheet with his feet on the table. He almost toppled over at the sight of her.

“Ariel! You’re soaked! What-“ Wackner began, but Ariel cut him off.

“No time. Send for my horse and equipment posthaste. I will report, and then I have to leave immediately,” she said and glanced at the back door, where one of the guards who had met Ariel and Irika at the manor during their arrival stood.

Wackner looked at Ariel, then at the guard. “You heard her! With all haste!” The guard saluted and left. “What happened? Where are Alex and your friend?” he asked, turning back to Ariel with a frightful look.

“Alex left on a run for the Mercenary State. That is all I can tell you. My friend, she… left with the gryphon. They headed north. I doubt the gryphon will be an issue to Hilders any longer, but I will have to go after Irika,” Ariel said rapidly, annoyed at her inability to explain anything better.

“She left… with the gryphon?” captain Wackner asked, now looking completely dumbfounded.

“Yes. I couldn’t explain if you asked me how or why. I have no idea where the gryphon is taking her, but knowing they were heading north is enough. I’m not about to let her face the Cuan wilderness alone,” Ariel said, shivering slightly at the prospects of everything that awaited in the cold, hostile mountain country.

“What of your… predicament with Brunn? What of your reward with the Lady?” Wackner asked.

“The former will be taken care of one way or the other. The latter will have to wait.” The mental image of the ice floes of the Cuan mountains brought a crucial point to Ariel. “Do you have any winter gear stored at the manor?”

“We do. I’ll send for a winter cloak, boots and gloves in the largest size we have,” captain Wackner said and turned to pick up his signal lamp.

“I’ll need a set in Irika’s size as well, just in case. Medium-height should do. I’ll also need an additional saddlebag,” Ariel said, not hesitating to demand materiel from the manor. Any fallout concerning their deal with the Lady would have to wait until everything else was settled.

Captain Wackner hummed in acknowledgement and clambered up a ladder that Ariel hadn’t noticed before in the small room behind his desk. His lower half was still visible from the lobby as he sent a long message to the manor from the small signal shelter atop the guard station.

“They will send your gear with the horse, she’ll be ready to go in minutes,” the captain said as he climbed down from the signal shelter. He rummaged in the small back room for a moment and resurfaced with a towel in his hand.

“Thank you. Tell the Lady my best regards and my apologies,” Ariel replied and saluted the captain.

“Oh no worries, I’m sure the Lady will understand! Honestly speaking, your presence caused quite the excited stir in the manor, I think the Lady would probably have considered that in itself enough of a repayment for the asylum we provided for you, should you have refused to help us with the gryphon dilemma.

Having that mess cleared is the very significant cherry on top, so to speak.” Captain Wackner chuckled heartily. “We are in _your_ debt if anything. You will always be welcome here, no doubt.”

“That is very reassuring to hear. I can still count myself lucky to have other allies in this land, but Irika certainly seems to garner more unjust hate wherever she goes. Having more places for her is a very heartening thought,” Ariel said, wiping her face with the towel and glancing out of the window impatiently. The heavy rain obscured a good length of the road to the manor, and no horses were visible yet.

Captain Wackner smiled warmly at Ariel. “You’re really fond of her, aren’t you?”

Unlike Ries and Lady Hilders’ comments about Ariel and Irika’s relationship, there was no teasing mischievousness in the captain’s voice. Oddly enough it was at this innocent statement that Ariel found herself blushing. “I do. Enough to chase after her to the ends of the earth,” she replied and left it at that.

Wackner smiled at her some more. A splattering sound from outside made both of their heads swivel towards the door. The lanky guardsman whom Wackner had sent walked in moments later.

“She’s packed, saddled and ready to go. We covered the saddlebags with a hide that’s _supposed_ to repel water, but I don’t know how long it’ll last in this downpour,” the guardsman said, wiping his dripping hair out of his face. “This is such dog weather, you’ll catch your death if you plan on traveling for long,” he added.

“Unfortunately I have no choice,” Ariel said and flashed a quick, grateful smile towards Wackner. “Thank you.” She saluted the guard and strode out of the door.

“Good luck!” captain Wackner hollered from within the station as Ariel patted the horse, leapt onto it and urged it into a trot towards the northern gate of Hilders. The horse threw its head around indignantly, water splattering every which way from its long, soaking wet mane.

“I know and I’m sorry, but Irika might be in trouble. We need to hurry,” Ariel said to the horse, for the first time in her life not feeling awkward about negotiating with an animal. The horse puffed once, then settled into a canter through the streets of Hilders. “Huh. Maybe Irika is right, maybe you _do_ understand,” Ariel whispered to herself and patted the horse gently.

The guards at the northern gate had apparently been informed of Ariel’s arrival, as she didn’t even have to stop before they waved her through. The rain was mercilessly barraging Ariel’s face and chilling her to her core, but she would have to soak until she picked up Irika’s trail. She was much too sturdy and stubborn to catch a cold anyway.

 

* * *

 

After about an hour and a half of riding, the rain gave way to intermittent evening sunshine from between the clouds. Ariel had never been this thoroughly drenched in her entire life, and even with her constitution she felt unlikely that she’d escape it without getting sick some way or another, even if the warm spring sunlight did bring some ease on her shivering skin. The horse puffed lightly as they trotted through the dwindling farmlands towards the north, not minding the wetness quite as much as Ariel but still somehow looking pleased at the sun’s warming effect.

Ariel figured that hanging around Irika had made her notice more things about the animal, even if she wasn’t quite ready to consider it – or rather her, she reminded herself – an actual friend like Irika did. Ariel was prepared for a long journey through Cuan, and for once considered the horse’s stamina as a factor. As it stood, she was still clueless about Irika’s heading.

The mountaintops of Cuan were slowly coming into view as the rain and the succeeding light fog cleared. Ariel estimated to be a bit closer to the Cuan border than they had been in the woods, and about ten miles eastward. As far as memory served her, this road would eventually take her to a larger trade route where she hoped to find witnesses or information concerning the gryphon’s flight. Now that the rain had let up, though, she picked a random farm road branching off the main path and made her way along it. Any farm workers would have been doing their early evening farmwork at the time of the gryphon’s flight and may have seen it fly across the open farmlands. And she needed more exact directions to the nearest town or rest stop, besides.

The farmhouse at the end of the road wasn’t quite as big as Ries and Ferdinand’s stead had been, but the annexed cattle shed was enormous. Various forms of mooing issued from within as Ariel passed the shed and slowed down on the front yard of the farmhouse. She noticed three farmhands shoveling dung at the edge of the vast corral attached to the cattle shed.

“Hoy, excuse me, gentlemen!” Ariel hollered and rode to the corral fence. “I’m looking for a gryphon that took flight from the woods to the west earlier today, any chance any of you spotted it?”

The three farmhands turned, struck down their pitchforks and wiped sweat off their brows in perfect unison. “Not me, ma’am. Guys?” The one closest to the fence turned to the other two, who shook their heads. “All of us were havin’ our break at that point I reckon. Should ask Gregor, the son of the house, he’s been out... ‘hunting...’ the entire afternoon.” The two farmhands standing further back whispered something to each other and snickered.

“Is he still out?” Ariel asked, deciding to ignore the conspiracy.

“Haven’t seen him come back at least. He might have returned when we were on our break, though,” said the man and grinned to his colleagues who grinned back. Whatever inside joke the three farmhands were enjoying, Ariel didn’t care enough to know.

“Thanks,” Ariel nodded to the men and urged her steed towards the farmhouse.

“You’re welcome to join us on our next break!” one of the other farmhands yelled after her, followed by some more snickering.

“I don’t think the three of you could handle me on a break!” Ariel yelled back over her shoulder. The horse puffed loudly after her remark. “Gimme a break, I’m in too much of a rush to be funny,” she said to it. She rode up to the front porch of the farmhouse, but before she could dismount, a blonde man, probably in his twenties stepped out of the front door.

“Our hands not giving you trouble, I hope?” the man asked and flashed a white-toothed smile.

“Just being clever with guests, I can appreciate that. Sadly I don’t have the time to try to out-clever them,” Ariel replied. “Are you the son of the house?”

“I sure am, name’s Gregor. How may I help a fine lady such as yourself?” the man said, walked next to the horse and extended a hand, which Ariel shook. If she didn’t know better she would’ve thought the man carelessly handsome, but something about his smarmy demeanor and twinkling blue eyes told her it was all very intended. Even his handshake lingered just a bit too long to be natural.

“Ariel. I’m looking for the gryphon that nested in the woods to the west, it took flight a few hours ago and headed north. I heard you were hunting around there at that time?” Ariel could tell the man knew what she was talking about, for his expression turned positively sour.

“Yeah, I saw it. I was hunting it, actually. It took one of our cows the other night so I stormed out after it.” The man called Gregor looked a dramatic mixture of embarrassed, amused and annoyed at himself. “Couldn’t find the damn beast for hours and hours. Then, when I was returning home, I saw it soar across the fields towards Renette, way too far to take a shot at it.”

“Renette, that’s a town, right?” Ariel could hardly believe that the first person she’d met already had an important clue for her.

“Yep, about fifteen miles due north. You should be able to make it there before nightfall.” Gregor was eyeing Ariel up and down, his eyes stopping momentarily on the crest at her breast. “You’re a knight? Why are you after the gryphon solo? Also, were you riding in the horrible downpour earlier? Do you have a death wish or something?”

Ariel chuckled at the man’s audacity even after learning about her status. “It’s not the gryphon that I’m after but what it’s carrying. It’s a long story and I’m in a hurry, thus the riding in the rain. Thank you for your information.” She saluted Gregor and pulled the reins back towards the farm road.

“Wait!” Gregor called after her. “Take me with you!”

Ariel stopped and turned to see the farmer’s son dashing back inside the farmhouse. Half a minute later he emerged, wearing a utility vest with a myriad of pockets and a large crossbow slung over his shoulder, carrying a bulging set of saddle bags. He wobbled around the corner of the house, and another half a minute later returned riding a handsome black stallion.

A plethora of questions occurred to Ariel, so she picked the most obvious one. “Why?”

“It sounds exciting!” Gregor replied, beaming a blindingly sunny smile at Ariel. “Besides, I need to take revenge on Bun.”

“Bun?” Ariel asked, a dozen more questions popping up in her mind.

“The cow I was talking about earlier, the one that the gryphon… stole. She was one of my favorites,” Gregor said, sniffing and frowning theatrically. “Let’s go!” He added and clicked his tongue loudly. His horse picked up the pace immediately.

Ariel was lost for words, but whipped her horse to follow Gregor’s. She had come for information and ended up riding with a strange, overtly familiar crossbowman instead. _“I suppose more eyes and ears will be helpful_ _in finding Irika,”_ she concluded to herself and decided not to argue Gregor's decision. As long as he didn't interfere with Ariel's search or get her into more trouble. He didn't seem well equipped enough to travel too deep into Cuan anyway, so odds were he would give up on following Ariel sooner rather than later.

As Ariel absent-mindedly scanned the mountain range in the horizon painted brilliant by the setting sun, it finally started to sink in just how impossible the task ahead was. Even if she did manage to follow the general direction Irika and the gryphon were heading, Cuan was riddled with sheer crags and inhibiting mountain ranges that might take days, weeks or even months to circle around. She would definitely have to leave the horse behind at some point, assuming the gryphon had flown into the mountains proper.

Various unpleasant scenarios about Irika’s destination started flitting in and out of Ariel’s imagination. She was heading towards some of the coldest areas on the continent without proper equipment, rations or anything. Even in the spring sun the temperatures in the mountains were well below freezing. As impossible as Ariel’s mission seemed, so did Irika’s survival. Then again, despite Ariel’s fractured memory and rapidly renewing nausea concerning the events that had occurred in the woods, she had once again seen Irika perform a feat she couldn’t understand.

She still could not wrap her head around Irika seemingly taming the raging gryphon and leaving amicably with it. The only logical explanations were all magical, so why wouldn’t Irika's magic also protect her from the icy north and everything within considering everything it had done thus far? At this point it seemed to Ariel like magic could do anything. And she didn’t possess a single drop of it. She shook the discouraging thoughts out of her head, gave herself a bracing little slap on the cheek and urged the horse to a canter. If she could reach the town of Renette before nightfall, she should be able to avoid freezing to death in the cool night air descending from the mountains.

“So, what's the gryphon carrying that you're after?” the bright voice of Gregor piped up from atop the next horse over.

Ariel sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year! This late-ass chapter wraps up act 2 of probably 4. Next act will take place in the chilly taigas, freezing tundras and hostile mountains of Cuan.  
> Also, I thought the "The X and the X" chapter naming thing was clever at the start of this all, but it's starting to get *really* difficult to come up with new chapter titles.


	17. The Tribulations and the Tribals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now where did Irika go off to? Let's find out!

 

_Bird’s-Eye View_

 

The aching in Irika’s heart peaked as Ariel’s distraught face disappeared behind the canopies. She knew where she was going was more important than anything she left behind, but a part of her still wanted to leap off the gryphon and back to the safety of the earth. That part was getting smaller and smaller as the gryphon gained height, and all but disappeared when a small spring squall hit Irika’s hair.

She looked around at the slowly shrinking woods, farmlands and houses, and an exhilaration like she had never felt before started bubbling up from the pit of her stomach. She was _flying_. Held aloft by this fantastic beast who was lucky to have been born with beautiful, powerful wings. Irika laughed out loud, mesmerized by the gryphon’s slow, steady rising and ebbing and invigorated by the wind blowing past her, and entirely uncaring of just how precarious her position on the gryphon’s broad back actually was. Any jitter or jolt from the beast could shake her off, all she could do was clutch on to clumps of rough, feathery fur between the beast’s wings. But she wasn’t worried or scared. She knew that whatever should happen, she would be fine. She had missed this so much. She _belonged_ here. More than anywhere else she had ever been.

The gryphon had gained enough height to its liking, gave a powerful beat of its wings and started flying towards the mountainous north in earnest. Irika had to press her body down against the gryphon’s back to prevent the headwind from throwing her off, but a grin spread on her face on its own accord, and a whoop escaped her throat before she could hold it down. For the first time since seeing the gryphon in the forest, a quick pang of fear burst forth from somewhere deep within. A gentle humming, like a warm, reassuring smile coming from within Irika erased it immediately. She was safe.

But why? Where were these feelings coming from? How did Irika calm down the gryphon and how did she heal it? Why did she feel so utterly familiar… no, why did she feel right at _home_ up in the air? A few more jolts of insecurity and doubt rose up to mingle with the excitement and the pleasure of flight, but were once more quickly suppressed. This time, instead of a warm smile, the feeling that flowed forth from somewhere within Irika was determined and understanding.

Abruptly, like a loud clap right in front of her face, a rift was torn between Irika’s consciousness and the one reassuring her. Irika’s own thoughts of fear and uncertainty flooded through, while the positive, warm ones remained parallel to her own, instead of stifling them like before. Her body started shaking slightly, partly because of the turmoil of emotions and partly because she realized that she was _cold_. The steady beating of the gryphon’s wings made her realize just how uncomfortable and taxing it was to clutch on to the creature’s sides with her legs and onto its fur with her hands. She had somehow managed to completely ignore everything her body felt for quite a while, as she had reveled in the sensations coming from within.

She laughed again, this time much more shakily than before. She could tell the laughter was her own. Flying through the air and moving faster than any human had probably ever done still felt amazingly thrilling, but with that thrill came the very concrete fear of falling. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, and with a thump of her heart and an odd warmth in her stomach, some of the shaking, coldness and uncertainty ebbed away. The other feelings within her tinkled with happiness and encouragement. Irika felt a small blush rising on her face, and realized that she felt like she was being praised. As soon as the realization set in, a warm, crystalline laughter echoed in her mind for a split-second, and everything from the past weeks came back to her.

The mysterious events surrounding the dragon in the forest of Alaum, the orcs and the prison of Brunn, the unnatural bouts of courage she had found herself with against the State pursuers, against the goblins, against the gryphon… even the boundless happiness she had felt when she had felt the sun and seen the sky for the first time in days at Ries and Ferdinand’s farmstead. So many times she had borrowed the feelings of another. Now that her mind and heart were her own while the other’s were also present, she could feel no malevolence in this entity, no matter who or what it might be. A small, quiet bell-like tinkle from the other’s side brought Ariel’s smiling face into Irika’s mind, followed by a warmth that lessened the wind’s freezing bite on Irika’s fingers even further.

“ _You like her too, huh?”_ Irika thought, addressing the other for the first time. Another quiet tinkle and a smaller burst of warmth, and Irika found herself empty and alone.

Before fear could set in, Irika grit her teeth and secured her grip on the gryphon. Who- or whatever this being that had been within her was, they had saved her – and so much more – enough times to earn Irika’s trust. Her journey would probably have ended all the way back in Alaum if not for the otherworldly power and knowledge she had passingly found herself with. The being had a plan of some sort, and most evidently the gryphon was a part of it. Irika still didn’t know what _her_ part in all of it was, but she would strive to find out and do whatever she could.

Now that she was left with only her own thoughts, Irika could finally spare some attention to what was happening around her. She looked down at the last vestiges of farmland slowly disappearing into patches of dark forest. The headwind and the distance to the ground made it difficult to tell, but she was sure she was moving faster than on horseback at full gallop. Ahead of her she could see more of the thickening woods, cut into hundreds of smaller copses and dozens of larger stretches of forest by a myriad of rivers flowing down from the distant snowy mountainside.

The gryphon seemed to be heading directly for the mountains, yet they were approaching much slower than Irika would have thought, which gave her slight pause. Just _how tall_ were these mountains anyway? The land of Cuan was all but unknown to her. Ariel had mentioned it once or twice, and she had probably heard a story or two about the hostile north in her youth, but not much of it had stuck. She knew that the country was big, mountainous and cold, and that was about it. What could possibly be there that was so important that the mysterious being had sat Irika onto a gryphon and beelined them north?

She carefully pushed herself up enough to look back over her shoulder. Hilders or the woods that hid the city were no longer visible in the horizon, not even the four-floor Hilders mansion with its grand smokestacks towering over the city was anywhere in sight. Passingly, Irika wished that she could have seen the magnificent mansion from the sky. If only she had wings of her own… Another silent beat of heat emanating from somewhere next to her heart eased the numbness in her fingertips. Irika didn’t feel the other being’s presence, but she felt like it was somehow watching over her. Another memory from a very long time ago flashed past Irika’s mind as a quick pang of dull pain traveled down the large scar wrapping around Irika’s body.

“No way…” Irika said to herself quietly, her voice drowned out by the whistling wind. She tried very hard to focus on the absent memories from her childhood. All of that had happened such a long time ago and had nothing to do with the events of the previous several weeks. How come that memory had visited her right then? But she remembered it more vividly than many other parts of her past, just as she had told Ariel and Ries many days ago. She had felt that something had been watching over her during the time she was healing from the horrific, life-threatening wounds inflicted on her by her birthmother. She very much felt that without that evanescent guardian spirit she would not have survived. Throughout the years of hardships of living in Brunn, and even still today, she found solace in the thought that for some reason she had survived. She had this inexplicable burn within to keep surviving no matter what. There was no way all of this could come back to the same being, was there?

But if that truly were the case, the sense of familiarity the being had brought with it would make sense. Like back in Brunn, just before her encounter with the orcs, she had felt as if some sort of a motherly combination of her mental images of a kind and gentle woman was encouraging her. That had been the strongest of her encounters with the other being by far, before the one with the gryphon she was riding now. Why _was_ that? What made that event different from the others? The other times that – she only now realized – the being had been present had been much more subtle and subdued, such as with the goblins. She hadn't noticed it then, but some of the courage she had felt whilst spilling the blood of other living beings had not been her own. Maybe she wouldn't have been able to strike the goblins down merely by her own will, and the being saw fit to give her a push?

A darker shade of thought drew over Irika's wonder. Would she be able to kill whatever, or whomever, if the being told her to? Would she even have a choice? What proof did she have that the being truly was benevolent, other than a gut feeling and circumstance? If she were a normal girl living in a happy family, would the being still have ripped her away from it all for a purpose she still didn't understand? _Why her?_ Surely there were other people – other sorcerers even – who would be much more suitable for whatever grand quest was now being pushed onto Irika.

Yet despite all of the doubts and the dark thoughts her subconscious tried to force her to consider, she couldn't convince herself to mistrust the other being. Something exuding such warmth and positive energy could never be planning anything evil, could it? And why would it have chosen Irika of all people to communicate with to that end even if it could? She didn't have a single bone in her body capable of being evil. At least she hoped she didn't.

Her train of thought was interrupted by a series of loud clacks coming from somewhere beyond the gryphon’s head. It took a while for her to realize that it was the gryphon itself chattering its beak loudly. Irika took an alarmed look around and noticed that snow had snuck up on them while she was preoccupied with her thoughts; they had reached the foot of the mountains that were now towering ahead of them like an insurmountable barrier of stone. Being so high up and traveling so fast through a place with snow still left over from winter, Irika would have thought to be freezing, but the warmth from her internal encounter with the other being still remained.

As soon as she had thought it, the gryphon veered sharply down and to the left and a blast of cold crosswind hit Irika’s face. The horrifying chill sunk straight into Irika’s very bones, but a pulse of warmth – not emanating from within but rather from her left side – blissfully undid the chill. Before Irika could wonder about the source of the warmth, the gryphon shrieked loudly and started beating its wings furiously, heading straight into a chasm between two rising mountains. Irika pressed herself down against the gryphon’s back and held on for dear life as the beast sped through the chasm, wing howling furiously around it.

Through the wind and the heavy beats of the gryphon’s wings, Irika could hear something else – something terrifyingly familiar. A deep, deafening roar from behind the gryphon resonated along the chasm walls and dislodged several large ice shelves from the sides of the surrounding mountains. Irika didn’t have to look back – not that she could have done that anyway – to realize that they were being chased by a dragon. And judging by the depth and volume of its roar, a much, _much_ larger one than the one that had chased her around in the forest what felt like a lifetime ago.

The gryphon screeched and veered right into a small gap in the chasm so abruptly that Irika almost fell off. Her legs left the gryphon's sides as she squeezed the beast's fur hard enough to make her fingers hurt. Somehow she managed to lock her legs back around the frantic beast's sides just as it shot upwards and out of the icy-edged crags. Another massive roar sounded, and a huge cascade of ice and snow detached from the mountains and crashed down into the chasm they had just left. Despite being one strong bump away from losing her grip, Irika couldn't help but look back down; the avalanche had all but filled the rocky chasm between two towering peaks. Then, from amidst the billowing snow, a vast, white draconic head with burning red eyes emerged. The head was about as large as the entire young dragon who had chased Irika in Alaum.

Irika swiveled around and fortified her grip as well as she could. _“We're going to get swallowed whole, huh,”_ she mused. “Come on, you can do this!” she added out loud to the gryphon, her heart hammering in her throat.

The beast was exhausted enough that even Irika noticed it. Its wingbeats grew more and more sluggish and it breathed heavily enough to wheeze a little. Irika tried to concentrate as hard as she could to bring back some of the healing power that the other being had loaned her to heal the gryphon before, but none came.

The gryphon clattered its beak loudly, spun around and dove. Irika gripped its fur and sides with all of her might, as the dragon's enormous form rushed over her like a dreadnought passing a dinghy. The gryphon capitalized on the dragon's sluggish turning and dove right back into the plume of snow still lingering over the chasm, forcing Irika to close her eyes tight as the whiteout hit her head-on. They blitzed blindly through the deluge of airborne snow left behind by the avalanche so fast that Irika saw no possible way they wouldn't hit something. Another mighty roar sounded somewhere considerably further away than before, muted by the veil of snow encompassing them. The gryphon took a sharp left turn and burst out of the snow cloud and back into the sunset-painted mountainside. The beast didn't let up its pace, though, as it rushed along the foot of the mountains and away from the dragon who was no doubt ravenously searching for its prey.

Irika let out a short, tense sigh of relief, and had to gasp for air immediately. She had held her breath for long enough to feel her grip weaken slightly. She refocused her efforts to not fall off as the gryphon sped past several mountains, before ducking back into the range between two peaks, into a valley shaded from the setting sun. Irika felt secure enough to take another look around and saw no traces of a dragon following them.

They were now flying above a mountain road, and Irika thought she even saw people traveling on it before bringing her focus back to holding on. She only managed to see a quick flash of white before a deathly cold cascade of beautifully glittering tendrils of ice hit the gryphon's right wing and back leg, accompanied by an ear-rending rushing sound. The gryphon screeched and plummeted straight down. Irika grabbed on for dear life, and through a heavy pang of pain issuing from somewhere next to her heart, she knew that the gryphon was dead before it hit the ground.

A shock of heat brought Irika back from a very short blackout. Her entire body ached and her left side was veritably burning. At first she thought the wound she had received from the orc invader back in Brunn had reopened, but as she surprisingly effortlessly bolted up from the rocky ground, she realized the source of the heat was the shortsword given to her by Ariel. It was glowing softly through the sheath in a constantly changing shimmer of colors mirroring the gem-like streaks on the blade. Mesmerized, Irika grabbed the hilt of the sword and pulled it out of the sheath.

“ _I am with you. You shall prevail.”_

Immediately her head cleared from the confusion of everything that had just happened, as she spun around to face the gargantuan mature white dragon that was hovering over the gryphon's corpse a few hundred feet over, sending waves of dust and snow surging through the air with every beat of its enormous wings. The dragon turned its head towards Irika, and a low, menacing grumble filled the entire valley. The sword grew hotter and brighter with every inch the dragon drew closer, until it was almost too hot for Irika to hold on to.

“ _Go.”_

Irika pointed the sword at the dragon and let out everything she had. She screamed her heart out as an unbelievable amount of magical power surged through the sword and left its tip as a bolt of lightning shimmering in various hues of pale pinks, greens and blues, incandescent enough to completely illuminate the vast valley between the peaks.

Irika watched in slow motion as the beautiful, multicolored bolt crept through the air towards the dragon that was now floating perfectly still in front of her. Particles of dust and snow were suspended in the air, undisturbed by the arc of magical lightning that contained the strength of gods know how many millions of Irikas, its course undeniably set to obliterate the evil creature who, for some reason, had it out for her.

A shimmering, vague form danced around Irika, coalescing at the edges of her vision and disappearing when she tried to focus on it.

“ _We shall have to part here once more. But I will always be watching over you. One day soon we will meet. It would seem the fates will it so.”_

Irika tried to reply, but she could do nothing. The bolt of wild magic continued its delayed but inevitable journey towards the dragon. Irika's mind felt perfectly clear, curious even at what was unfolding before her. But now she knew that it was the doing of another. No doubt, after all of this magical mayhem was over, she would find herself as weak and ignorant as ever.

The shimmering form brightened in front of Irika's eyes, and came together to form a smiling face. Irika didn't recognize who it belonged to, but at the same time she did. It wasn't the face of any person she had ever met, but it was someone so very important to her, so deeply rooted within her that she could only grieve that she was about to be separated from her. _Her._ It was a she. And she was... she was…

 

 

_Consciousness_

 

Irika’s world was immersed in an all too familiar muddled darkness. The first thing her mind understood was that she had blacked out again. And now she was waking up god knows where, _again._ It really was getting pretty old.

“ _Vil fenne ess mitte i kuulangi, ess as ie gare vittedrago aslagt...”_ The sound of a woman talking somewhere close by brought some clarity to Irika’s throbbing head. The woman’s voice was slightly phasing in and out as if a door was being opened and closed between them, and the words made absolutely no sense to Irika. _“Just how hard did I hit my head this time...?”_ Irika pondered while still keeping her eyes tightly shut. She could tell by the amount of light filtering through her eyelids that opening her eyes would be like an extra assault on her aching skull.

“ _Ynlag. Tidd auga ase tidd igervang.”_ A very deep, rough, impatient male voice answered the female one, and the words made just as little sense to Irika. _“A different language? Where the hell_ am _I?”_ she thought and opened one of her eyes the slightest bit that she could. Something way too bright was shining way too brightly somewhere way too close, and her vision was filled with only light and pain. Irika decided it was best to focus on listening for now, even if she couldn’t make heads or tails about what was being said. At least she wasn’t being eaten or frozen to death by a dragon, so she was, relatively speaking, safe.

And now that she was actually focusing on her surroundings, she seemed to be lying very comfortably in what felt like furs. She could probably have easily fallen asleep here if not for the fact that she was already wide awake and alert and panicking a little bit regarding her situation. Apart from a mildly irritating headache, it was nothing like the grogginess of waking up after having been severely wounded, which she had experienced way too many times in her opinion. This led her to believe that she was probably physically fine as well.

“ _Adar, vi ase tress augvantage on ess vana ylthorerag anfisst, ok vittedragoe esisla gunmatt. Esisla. Gunmatt.”_ The woman sounded excited and irritated at the same time, like she was trying her best to explain something incredible to someone else. Based on the fact that Irika had just survived an attack by a dragon the size of a small hill, something amazing must have happened. And based on the warm, kind, shimmering smile on the backdrop of an unfathomable, scintillating magical attack burned into Irika’s mind, she was probably the star of the woman’s story. The gruff-sounding man said something too quietly for Irika to hear, followed by the rapid thunking beat of footsteps coming closer.

“Oi, hunne. Este tidd vigla? Are you awake?” The woman’s voice from before was now clearly addressing Irika. The last sentence came out with a noticeable accent, but at least she spoke a language Irika could understand.

“Yes... The light hurts,” Irika replied meekly, deciding she was not good enough at pretending to be unconscious.

“Oh. I’m sorry. Let me move this,” the woman’s voice said, and the brightness seeping into Irika’s skull subsided immediately. She gingerly opened her eyes to a much dimmer room than before.

“Our physician was seeing to your health, she must have forgotten the light. How are you feeling? What is your name?” The woman spoke slowly and calmly, and once the blurriness in Irika’s eyes subsided, she noticed that the woman was astonishingly blonde and quite huge. She was probably at least as tall as Ariel, but the various furs and leathers draped around her made her look at least half again as wide. Her earthy garb was starkly contrasted by her vibrant hair, giving her the general look of a gold-crowned bear.

“Head hurts. But otherwise I feel fine. My name is Irika, what’s yours?” Irika replied, propping herself up on one elbow and rubbing her temple.

“Nice to meet you, Irika. I am Iyu and I am the _veseled_ of this tribe of ours.” The woman sat down on a chair next to Irika’s bed, grabbed a pillow from the foot of the bed and propped it behind Irika’s back for support. “You did something very amazing back there,” she said and stared at Irika wide-eyed with a thoroughly bemused expression on her face. Irika noticed that the woman called Iyu’s eyes were almost exactly the same color as her hair.

“What exactly did I do? I’m… a little bit confused,” Irika said, fighting down a small attack of vertigo as she tried to remember the details.

Iyu took a deep breath and shot into the story as if she were dying to tell it to anyone she met. “We were coming back from hunting. We saw The Great White appear and attack something. A _vinnlea_ fell down, it dropped something but we didn’t see what right away. The Great White took the _vinnlea_ , we thought it would leave to eat. But then it dropped it, turned back and we saw that a girl was standing there with a sword. Then you cast great magic and we were blind and deaf, we thought the world had ended. But only a moment later the The Great White was gone. Not a bone was left. What did you _do? Who are you?_ ” Iyu’s story was significantly less calm than her earlier demeanor. She finished it almost awestruck, staring at Irika with something bordering reverence.

Irika couldn’t think of any explanation that would actually make sense to a stranger. How could she possibly explain something that she didn’t even understand herself? “I… I don’t know what happened. I’m just Irika, from Brunn,” she said and hesitated again. Iyu had already clearly seen her cast magic, but keeping her stigma hidden was so ingrained into her that she had a hard time getting it out. “I am a sorcerer but that power was not mine. I can’t explain it any better than that.”

Iyu closed her half-open mouth and kept staring at Irika. Irika wished she would blink. “I do not understand, but it is not important in the end. My father does not believe that The Great White is gone. We witnessed it with our own eyes, but he does not believe.” Iyu’s brow scrunched and for a moment she looked positively feral. “He is very stubborn. But I do understand why. Our tribe is small, nobody in Cuanheim would believe that The Great White was killed in our territory. They would not believe more that a single girl killed it.” She raised one eyebrow very slowly. Her expressions were as animated and as exaggerated as the rotund Hilders guard captain’s. “You did kill it, yes?”

Irika was about to reply with another ‘I don’t know’, but fell back to the facts. She had definitely cast her usual lightning magic at the dragon, it was all she knew after all. She glanced around in a momentary distraction and was relieved to see Ariel’s shortsword leaning on her bedframe, next to her decorated sleeve of beads and ribbons. Normally she would have cast her magic with her right hand, focusing it through the tunnel of her sleeve like she had always practiced, but something had compelled her to use the sword as a focusing instrument. And it had worked far better than she could have ever imagined; the sword had practically sucked the magic right out of her and shot it at the dragon, magnified a thousandfold by the being that had resided within her. Irika supposed the spell could have caused the dragon to be transported somewhere instead, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that both she and her ethereal companion had very much wanted it dead.

“I’m almost certain we did. O-or I did. It’s… it’s hard to explain...” Irika responded, squirming uncomfortably and not looking at Iyu. She wanted to give the large, intimidating woman staring at her a response that would make her smile instead of scowl. Iyu seemed like she would probably believe a fantastic story about a strange being guiding Irika for weeks and granting her epiphanies and wild magic, but Irika didn’t want to tell anyone yet. Not before she knew what was going on. Not before she had told Ariel everything.

Iyu nodded very slowly. “I understand. Rest now. We will talk more in the morning.” She rose up, and thumped her arm against her chest in a fairly similar gesture to Ariel’s military salute. “Is there anything you need?” she added as she turned to leave.

Irika could not have been more comfortable, lying on the smooth, luxuriously soft furs. Now that the immediate stress of a strange place had somewhat subsided, her stomach saw fit to remind her that it had been well over half a day since lunch in Hilders. Ariel’s ration bars, filling as they were, had long since evaporated from the physical effort of clutching on to a flying beast for hours on end. “If it’s not a bother, I’d like some water and bread,” Irika said carefully. She was getting more used to asking for things, even if it did still feel like she was overstepping some arbitrary boundary.

Iyu’s savage face eased into a smile that took Irika by surprise. The woman almost looked like a different person altogether when she wasn’t scowling. “I will bring you some proper food. We will not feed a guest the same way we feed pigs.” She hummed mirthfully and left the room.

Irika let herself back down on the bed and relaxed completely for the first time since leaving the Hilders mansion. The stress from the eventful evening was leaving her body breath by breath, as strength slowly bled away from her muscles, replaced by a dull ache from overuse. Her fingers and forearms felt particularly limp all of a sudden. She didn’t have a hard time figuring out why.

“I have food. Or would you rather sleep?” Iyu’s calm voice started Irika out of dozing off.

“I’ll eat. Thank you. And thank you for bringing me here and taking care of me,” Irika said and propped herself back up. It took significantly more effort the second time around.

“We should be thanking _you_. No, we should be _making you a statue_! If The Great White truly is gone, you have avenged hundreds of our _a_ _stadars._ Err... ancestors,” Iyu said and smiled again, even more brightly than before. Irika blushed slightly and was not sure if it was the praise or the breathtaking smile. “Even if nobody will ever believe what happened here, I will remember. And when I become _led,_ I will make it known.” Iyu set a tray full of delicious-looking and smelling things into Irika’s lap.

A surge of strength found its way into Irika’s arms again as she grabbed a chicken leg on pure reflex and bit into it before she even realized what she was doing. Iyu chuckled lightly. Irika blushed harder. “I’m really hungry,” she said, her mouth already empty again.

“It is fine. You have no doubt spent much strength. Eat as much as you like!” Iyu said and grinned toothily. If anything she seemed to appreciate Irika’s starved style of eating.

Irika nodded and bit into another morsel. Everything on the tray tasted delicious. Although Irika would probably have eagerly eaten moss at this point. “What does ‘led’ mean?” she asked between bites. She had never talked with anyone who spoke a different language than her own.

“Oh. Led. Ummm...” Iyu closed her eyes and put her fingers on her temples. Even her thinking was exaggerated. “Chief! It means chief. _Viseled_ means… next-to-chief?”

“Vice-chief?” Irika suggested.

“Yes! Of course. It even sounds similar, how could I forget!” Iyu said and laughed.

“I heard you talking outside the room earlier,” Irika said carefully. She didn’t want to outright ask what Iyu and the rough-sounding man had been talking about. “I’ve never met anyone who talks a different language than I do.”

Iyu blinked at Irika a couple of times and then smiled again. “I cannot think what that feels like. Many merchants come to Cuan, even through a small village like ours. Almost everyone in the south knows how to speak the tongue of Stenning.” She glanced at the door behind her and sighed. “I was talking with father. I told him about you killing The Great White. He does not believe. Even though I and three other hunters saw it with our own eyes.”

Irika stared absent-mindedly through Iyu, thinking about what exactly this Great White meant to Iyu’s people. She had talked about avenging hundreds of ancestors. And building a _statue to Irika_. It must have meant a lot. “The dragon… The Great White? It was dangerous, then?” Irika suggested, focusing back on Iyu’s face

“Oh yes. It has been… _had_ been living here for centuries. It took many livestock every year from all of the tribes in the south. It took many people. It has taken hundreds of people in the past.” Iyu crossed her arms scrunched her brow again. “Many hunting parties have been killed. The biggest party was twenty strong. It killed eighteen. That was fifty years ago. The chieftains decided we should leave it alone, it would kill less that way.” Iyu gave a short growl and scowled harder. “Some tribes in the mountains even worship The Great White as a god. I say good riddance.”

Irika mulled it over in her head. Despite having just eaten her fill, the pit of her stomach suddenly felt hollow. All things considered, didn’t this make her a _dragon slaying hero_? Like the knights in gleaming silver armor with their magical swords in fables? She certainly didn’t feel like one. She had just been trying to survive. And the power that had killed the dragon hadn’t been her own anyway. But Iyu, the vice-chief of this tribe, believed that she was responsible. She had said she’d _make it known_ that Irika had been the one who killed the dragon. “A _statue?_ ” Irika blurted out loud.

Iyu stared at her for a moment, threw her head back and laughed raucously. “Yes! That is how important what you did was! To us here in the south anyway.” She wiped her eyes theatrically. A slight bitterness crept into her smile. “Maybe Cuanheim would consider it only a small service to Cuan. Our country has a great many tribes and the Great White only hunted among a few. They never gave us their large weapons to hunt it.”

“Is Cuanheim the capital?” Irika asked and failed to stifle a huge yawn.

“Yes. Cuanheim is much more like a Stenning city than a Cuan city,” Iyu said and sighed, her bitter smile turning into a solemn one. “They always say they need their weapons to defend. And I understand. Cuanheim is attacked by orcs or dragons or _ogra_ or many other things very often. They have brave soldiers and good weapons to defend, and they very rarely lose men. But the attacks always come. Monsterfolk are not very smart, and there are so many things to eat or steal in Cuanheim.”

Irika couldn’t fathom a city that was regularly besieged by orcs or dragons. She acutely felt like she never ever wanted to go there. She passingly wondered where she _should_ go from here, but the warm, heavy feeling in her stomach had spread all the way to her eyelids and it was starting to get difficult to keep them open.

“You should sleep now, we will talk more in the morning,” Iyu said and smiled that warm, beautiful smile again. Irika felt like she would probably have been smitten by the vice-chieftain if her heart weren’t already rapidly filling with the mischievous smile of a certain tall, red-headed lady knight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck the flu. Just fuck it. With a barbed wire bat.  
> Also "The Tribals and the Tribulations" would have been so much better but that's not the correct order of events... sadface


	18. The Failure and the Feast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of waking up in this one. It's kind of a running theme by now. I should probably come up with some more inventive transitions!  
> DISCLAIMER: All of the super fictional people in this chapter are of legal drinking and herbal drug using age!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Retcon City! I made the farmer's daughter Greta whom Ariel met a few chapters ago into a farmer's son named Gregor instead. There are just too many females in this story! And also I kind of figured out where I'm probably gonna go with it. So check out the last quarter of chapter 16 for the quick introduction to Gregor of the Smarmy Smile.

 

_Unwanted Company_

 

Ariel was in a bad mood. She was sitting in a small tavern in the town of Renette, opposite the blonde, blue-eyed farmer’s son named Gregor, nursing her budding headache with a mug of hot mead. After she had ignored his unabashed flirting, complimenting and badgering about her personal life for the first quarter of an hour of their travel, he had instead shot into his entire impossibly meandering life story, including a fantastic, extensive array of various kinds of rare and unusual beasts that he had allegedly hunted. Even though he was clearly younger than Ariel, his ten lifetimes worth of stories had somehow, unfortunately, managed to last them through the entire night. She doubted that even a tenth of what he had told her was true. Even now she was tuning out of whatever glorified hunting story Gregor was currently telling her.

Of Irika and the gryphon she had learned next to nothing. She wanted to continue traveling northward immediately, but her horse needed to rest after a night of riding. And, not that she wanted to admit it, she did too, desperately. Riding in the rain and then pulling an all-nighter had made her feel heavy both literally and figuratively, but she refused to get sick, not now. She would probably have to rent a room in town, properly dry her clothes and leathers and sleep, just in case.

“Are you alright, Ariel?” Gregor asked, bringing her back to the present. The young man had assumed a first-name basis with her way faster than any average person would, considering she was a knight. All things considered, there was little doubt in her mind that she was traveling with a true blue playboy. Even his current worried face just looked like a facade to some less than altruistic ends, one that she had learned to doubt all the way back in her trainee days.

“Yeah. I think I’ll be fine as long as I get to take a short nap at some point,” Ariel replied. A few coughs forced their way up from her lungs, bringing with them a sinking feeling that the least desirable situation was about to come to pass.

“Why it sounds like you’re falling ill! Riding in the rain will do that to you,” Gregor said and nodded to himself as if he had just said something immensely wise. He rummaged through some of the various pockets in his vest, muttering to himself. “Now where did I put it…? Hmmmm… A-ha!” He pulled out a small pouch from one of the pockets and handed it to Ariel. “Here. Put some of this in your mead. Old family medicine, I never leave home without it!”

Ariel took the pouch and looked inside. It was filled with a greenish powder of some sort. “Medicine? Herbal?” she asked Gregor.

“Among other things. It works, I swear!” Gregor said and smiled his brightest, whitest smile.

“Guess it can’t hurt,” Ariel said and shook some of the powder out of the pouch and into what was left of her mead. It turned the beautiful golden hue of the drink into a murky, sickly gray. “Well, bottoms up, I guess.” She downed the mug and immediately wished she had another mugful to wash it down with.

“It’ll get worse before it gets better, I’m sure of it. But worry not! I’ll take good care of you if you so wish!” Gregor said and flashed his teeth again.

Ariel couldn’t help but feel slightly amused at the audacity of this fellow, as annoying as he was. “No thank you, I think I’ll manage,” she replied and rubbed her aching temple. Gregor seemed incredibly insistent on continuing to crowd her in every turn. It was probably better for her sanity to just come out with the truth. “And just so that we can lay your intentions to rest before I snap and punch you, the thing I’m after is… a person. A very dear one to me,” she concluded.

The corners of Gregor’s mouth slackened the tiniest bit in a moment of pause, before switching back to the usual unfaltering smile. “Ah! Say no more! Please, do forgive my forwardness if that is the case! A chance missed is a piece of destiny lost, I always say,” he said with a poetic flourish of his hand.

The amicable reaction took Ariel by surprise. Then again, it figured that Gregor had to be fairly proficient at getting rejected as well if he behaved like this with every woman he met, even with his silver tongue.

“It’s fine. I’m flattered. And as much as I hate to say it, I think you might be right. I don’t feel so well,” Ariel said, and she _really_ didn’t. It felt like the medicine Gregor had offered her had made her much sicker.

“Like I said, it gets worse before it gets better. We should get you a room,” Gregor said and rose to talk with the tavernkeeper.

Ariel rose too, bolted right across the tavern floor, tackled the front door open, fell to her knees and vomited in the rose bushes outside. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this ill, and was now quite certain it was caused by Gregor’s medicine rather than her own condition. Her head swam and she was furiously fighting to keep herself conscious, and rapidly failing.

“ _I’m going to strangle him,”_ she thought as the world turned black.

 

* * *

 

It didn’t take Ariel long to realize that she was dreaming. She dreamt extremely rarely, and every time she did her dreams were very lifelike, often to a disappointing degree. She had listened to other people’s wild dreams about flying across oceans, riding fantastic creatures into battle or being surrounded by wealth and fame. Her dreams always involved repeating her past experiences almost exactly as she remembered them going, no matter what she did to try to change their course. This time she was walking through a forest. Light was filtering down from the canopies above and the forest was full of the sounds of life. A light breeze echoed the chill of winter, but the sun was shining high enough to keep her warm even in the shade of the woods.

As soon as she remembered what would happen next, she was at a crossroads. The Mercenary State at her back, Cuan to the left and Stenning straight ahead.

“ _The voice of fate will reach you soon. Are you ready?”_

A warm, kind voice was speaking to Ariel. She looked around but saw no-one else at the crossing, just as she remembered. Only a moment later she heard the roar of what she already knew was a blue dragon, thrashing through the woods and spewing its thunderous breath every which way.

“ _Go on!”_

The voice urged her. Ariel started to run towards the sounds. After only a few steps, the surroundings morphed into a small clearing, completely filled by the form of a blue wyvern, gnashing at something on the ground. Ariel’s heart leapt.

“ _Such a pitiful creature, yes?”_

A very shabby-looking Irika was panting on the ground, dodging the dragon’s teeth with all of her might. Ariel frowned at the voice’s statement.

“ _Oh no, not her. The other one. A lost child.”_

“Come on then you big hunk a'crap, I swear I'll pull in your tongue with me and make you CHOKE ON IT!” the brave, exhausted girl shouted in the dragon’s face. Ariel smiled. The voice inside her was beside itself with mirth.

“ _Her… her I like very much. She is a child of the sky after all. So is the other one, but stolen from me so very long ago.”_

The dragon was ready to strike, but Ariel was already at its side, bringing her sword down upon its neck. The sensation of her blade cutting through the dragon’s form as easily as cutting mist still remained vivid in her mind and her muscles.

“ _Poor youngling. He did not deserve this. This was all my fault. Your pain, too.”_

Ariel tried to scream, but her throat was squeezed shut, teeth gritting against teeth as the dragon’s spiteful blood made her entire body seize in agony. Despite the pain, she felt Irika’s cold, kind, slightly sweaty hand upon her own. The pain was immediately gone, and so was everything else.

“ _I know… …rds cannot reach… …re a child of the earth, mu… …nyone else. You c… …eces of the sky, an... …ve you return them…”_

The voice was ebbing in and out of Ariel’s consciousness, less and less of it sticking to her mind by the second. She had already forgotten most of what it had said before.

“—“

Ariel jumped awake. She sat up fast enough to make her stomach cramp a little and knocked something down with her hand. She barely acknowledged the clatter as her mind was still hanging on to the rapidly fading dream. A door on the opposite wall opened and Gregor’s blonde head peeked in. “Well good morning to you! How are you feeling?” he said, but Ariel had no attention to spare for him now. Something was ringing in her mind, just barely out of reach. A phrase… or a message? Something that she felt like she had to grasp. She concentrated with all of her might on her dream. It had been about the meeting of her and Irika in the forest of Alaum, but something was off…

A small, almost imperceptible pulse of warmth came from somewhere next to her chest. She dug into her shirt and pulled out a small iron pendant. It was an ugly, flattened walnut-shaped pendant that not a single person in the world would have considered worthy of wearing, or displaying anywhere in general. But as far as she knew, it had belonged to her mother. It was the only memory she had left of her. Ariel stared at the crude pendant and tried to remember her dream with all of her might. There had been something very important there, something she needed to know. Another tiniest pulse of warmth now hit the palm of her hand.

“ _Fate might finally see the sky made whole again.”_

The words hit Ariel’s mind like a chorus of a thousand bells. The din was deafening enough for Ariel to reflexively try to cover her ears, only to find that she couldn’t cover them both and that it didn’t help anyway. Gregor, who was staring at Ariel from the doorframe and mouthing something, didn’t seem to hear anything out of the ordinary. Whatever the sound was, it seemed to be entirely inside Ariel’s head. Then, as soon as it had come, it was gone. But the memory of the words remained.

“Fate might finally see the sky made whole again,” Ariel repeated. The words didn’t make any sense to her. She stared at her pendant again. It felt like a small lump of iron in the palm of her hand.

“What?” Gregor asked, looking thoroughly dumbfounded. “Are… are you alright?”

Ariel looked up at him, then around herself. She was sitting on a bed in a small room, sunlight filtering in low from behind a set of floral-patterned curtains. An unlit candle and its metallic stand were sprawled on the floor next to the nightstand adjacent to her bed. Her armor and leathers were neatly arranged against the wall. She was clad in some of the spare clothes that Ries had packed in their saddlebags for their journey.

“What… Did you…?” Ariel asked, feeling unusually bashful. She had passed out in front of the tavern. Had Gregor carried her here?

Gregor smiled and waved his hand in front of his face theatrically. “Oh heavens no! Well, not just me. I, the tavernkeeper and a helpful Hilders guardsman managed to carry you here; we’re on the second floor of the tavern. I must say, you are not an easy person to carry!” He chuckled and waved his hand towards Ariel’s armor, but glanced at her missing arm, which was now unshielded by the usual cape. “The guardsman helped the tavernkeeper’s wife extract you from your armor, and then she clad you in the fresh linens. I took the liberty of digging them out of your travel packs. I apologize for going through your belongings.”

“It’s fine. Thank you,” Ariel said, glad that there had been a woman around to dress her. She wasn’t especially ashamed of nudity, but the thought of being unconscious and naked amidst a group of unfamiliar men was not a welcome one. She plopped back down onto the bed and returned to the contents of her ebbing fever dream. She could still roughly remember what it had been about, but the details were already gone. Only the very last bit remained. _“Fate might see the sky made whole again.”_ What the _hell_ did that mean?

“This may be rude, but I just have to ask…” Gregor started carefully. Ariel sighed wearily inward - she didn’t even have to guess what this was about.

“A gryphon took it. Not the same one I’m chasing, but an… amusing coincidence regardless,” she replied, a short but fierce pang of shame, regret and anger striking her as she remembered her pathetic encounter with the gryphon who had spirited Irika away.

“I suppose you get the question often,” Gregor said and grinned at her. “Then again, you hide it well when armored,” he added.

“That’s the point. I don’t mind talking about it, but I also don’t feel like telling every passer-by my sob story. I refuse to let it make me any less of a knight,” Ariel said.

Now that the shock of her dream and waking up in an unfamiliar place had passed, she realized that she was feeling somewhat better than before passing out. Gregor’s medicine must have something to do with that part as well.

“ _Less_ of a knight? How many knights with _both_ of their arms could manage to swing your sword?” Gregor said and pointed at Ariel’s greatsword which was leaning against the corner of the room, its flat tip slightly sunk into the wooden floorboards. “I’ve had an easier time carrying month old calves at the farm than I did carrying your sword up here! I even cut myself with it!” He showed a long, red nick on his forearm. “And you’re telling me you use it _one-handed!?_ And here I thought _I_ had some crazy stories to tell…”

Ariel smiled at Gregor’s spirited reaction and roundabout compliment. “It’s all about the technique. Pure strength would just get me stuck in the ground. Although that can be a surprisingly effective tactic too!”

Gregor stared at Ariel incredulously. He glanced at her greatsword again, then at the hilt of the broadsword next to it. “It didn’t really feel metallic, what are they made of?” he asked.

“That’s a secret,” Ariel said tersely. She was assaulted by a sudden urge to tell Irika the whole story of her swords, a story she had never told anyone. It hadn’t been long since Irika had been whisked away into the skies, but Ariel already found herself dearly missing the company of the young sorceress. She hoped with all of her heart that Irika was safe.

“Ah, how titillating! A mysterious lady of the State wielding a pair of mysterious swords, in pursuit of a legendary beast carrying her lover into the frigid north! Now there’s a story worthy of an epic!” Gregor said, acting out his summary with his entire body.

A single, hot pulse of blood thumped through Ariel’s head at the sound of the word ‘lover’. “If only I know where the gryphon took her,” she said, halfway smiling at Gregor’s bombastic enactment and halfway frowning at worry for Irika.

“Oh, but I have news! While you were asleep, I was gathering information. I stumbled into the guard barracks and met the Hilders guardsman whom I mentioned before. He happened to see the gryphon flying northward on his route! He told me he would be expecting a report from the north by this very morning, and that it would almost certainly contain information on any gryphon sightings!” Gregor said and bowed to Ariel with a flourish.

Another fiery heartbeat coursed through Ariel’s entire body. She sprang up again, and this time her abdominals did cramp. “Ow… Is the guard still in town?” She asked Gregor, rubbing her stomach.

“I believe he’s on his morning patrol right now, but he should be reporting in at the barracks in town before noon. He did say that a State knight would be more than welcome to visit!” Gregor said and smiled at Ariel.

Ariel’s previous indignation at Gregor’s antics was all but wiped away. She could’ve kissed the man for his help, but he’d probably consider it permission to keep flirting. “Thank you,” she said wearily and flumped back onto the bed. “You spent the night gathering information? Do you ever sleep?” she asked Gregor.

“Oh certainly, but you’ve been asleep for a full day! I had a good long sleep myself despite the night of excitement!” Gregor said happily.

Ariel almost sprang up a third time, but her stomach protested and she fell back onto her pillow. She closed her eyes and covered them with her arm. “Figures,” she said weakly. She was too groggy and too sick to get angry at the day of tracking Irika that she had lost. Instead, she almost felt like crying. As if to prevent that from happening, her thoughts escaped back to the bizarre fever dream on their own as Gregor excused himself out of the room.

Ariel was usually a rather skeptical person. She had always steered clear of religion, myth and legends, preferring to rely on her senses, reasoning and muscles instead. She had never even had her fortune told, thinking that seers and carnival fortune tellers alike merely told people what they wanted to know. But what now, when she had experienced something that could only be described as a premonition? Even if it didn’t make any sense to her, it was still an extraordinarily clear message that came to her in a dream. Was it a conclusive sign that she was finally going insane? Or was there something more to it?

She wanted to see Irika. Irika, brimming with imagination and perpetually awestruck by legends and tales. She would surely have wild ideas about a mysterious phenomenon like this. A lump rose in her throat as another stray thought about what could’ve happened to Irika in Cuan flashed by her mind.

Ariel groaned and sat up again. She swiveled her legs off the bed, took a deep breath and stood up. After a bit of wooziness she decided that she was fit enough to start strapping on her leathers. She didn’t have the time to be sitting around in a tavern room pondering about mystical messages; she had a wayward sorceress to find.

 

 

_Unsung But Content_

 

A delicious smell wafting from somewhere gently nudged Irika up from her sleep. Her stomach immediately gave a light squeeze to announce that it wanted to eat whatever smelled so good. She stretched herself as far as she could go and grudgingly dug herself out of the heavenly soft and warm furs she’d slept in. All dragons considered, she felt as fit as a fiddle, if a little hungry.

She swept her poofy hair out of her face and noticed a slight numbness in her hands that she hadn’t noticed the previous night. A light pattern, reminiscent of some sort of weave or twine was visible in the palm of her right hand. It felt slightly tingly as she rubbed it with her fingers. _“Huh. Weird,”_ she thought and clambered up from the low bed. She hadn’t noticed it in the darkness of the previous night, but all of the beds in the room were just frames without legs. The room itself was windowless, but sunlight was beaming in from the hallway outside the half-open door. Her bed seemed to be the only occupied one, as the others didn’t have a set of furs laid out.

She gingerly stepped onto the biting cold stone floor and tiptoed to the chair, where all of her overclothes were neatly folded. She stumbled a bit in her rush to get dressed and bumped into the chair with a loud clatter. The warmth of the furs was rapidly evaporating from her body, and it seemed that she’d be in trouble without some extra clothes – now that her guardian spirit wasn’t there to breathe warmth into her body from within anymore.

“Good morning!” came Iyu’s voice from the door.

“Morning!” Irika said and stiffened up, finally digesting a bit of info she had learned the previous night; she was apparently receiving hospitality in the chief of the tribe’s house as the vice-chieftains personal guest. Was there something that was expected of her? Some kind of etiquette she didn’t know of? She would have to ask Iyu.

“How are you feeling? Would you like to see our physician?” Iyu asked first, eyeing Irika up and down. Her brow tightened into a small frown. “And would you like some warmer clothes?” she added, glaring at Irika’s shins that were only covered by a pair of thin tights.

“I’m- I feel good. A bit hungry, though.” Irika had another short bashful moment before deciding that slowly freezing to death would probably be a bigger insult to Iyu’s hospitality than asking for a warmer pair of pants. “And yes, some clothes would be good. I… I left all of mine behind,” she said, deciding to leave her story vague for now. She reckoned there might be prying later, and she would like some more time to come up with a more coherent story than anything she had told Iyu before.

“Well I have good news, food is being served. I will bring you clothes, wait here,” Iyu said, smiled and left. Both her hair and her smile looked even more incandescent in the daylight filtering in.

Irika caught herself staring after Iyu, her mind threatening to wander into dangerous territory. “ _Why the heck is it that Ariel and Iyu make my heart skip a beat but I’ve never once been attracted to a man? Is that even allowed?”_ Irika thought, feeling oddly uncomfortable. It took her a moment to realize that she was feeling a tad guilty, and another moment to realize why. Something deep inside of her exclaimed that it was an insult to Ariel to consider someone else pretty so readily, especially given how much she missed her company. _“What the hell am I even thinking about?”_ Irika pondered and clapped her cheeks with her hands a couple of times. She sat down and stared at the odd, tingly pattern on her palm.

The smell of some kind of frying meat from the hallway was making her stomach gurgle loudly. Her stomach seemed to be just about the only consistent thing in her life right now. She could hardly believe that it had only been a matter of weeks since she’d risen out of bed in her and her mother’s tiny shack in Brunn, wondering whether her life would be the same trudge for the rest of her days. Everything up until now felt like a weird, wonderful, heart-rending fever dream.

“Here. These will be warm,” Iyu said, coming into the room carrying a huge pile of leather and fur. She unceremoniously dropped them onto the floor and squatted next to the pile. “These are young sizes, they should fit you,” she added.

Irika joined her on the opposite side of the pile of fur and stared at Iyu, not knowing what to make of the last statement. ‘Young sizes’? Irika wasn’t _that_ small, was she? Then again, if the tall and broad vice-chieftain herself was anything to go by, the people of Cuan were probably pretty large. Irika dug into the pile and pulled out a pair of fuzzy pants. They were coarser on the outside than the silky softness of the bedding furs, but the inside felt pleasant enough to wear.

“Here are some socks, and… here is a coat. Spring is coming but it is still very cold in the mountains,” Iyu said and patted her own furs for emphasis. She looked at Irika’s boots and frowned slightly again. “You will also need boots and gloves if you go outside. How did you survive out in the cold?”

Once again Irika couldn't say for sure. All she could do was shrug and blame magic. She had definitely felt the cold several times during her insane flight, but every time the being within her had breathed warmth into her body. There was no doubt she would’ve frozen to death long before landing otherwise. She would probably have slowly frozen to death even now, indoors, if not for the fuzzy socks and pants that she was pulling on.

“Hm. We _Cuanaith_ cannot use magic very well. Most of us cannot use it at all. It is a special gift to a few,” Iyu said and handed the jacket over to Irika.

“Some people in Stenning can. Most people in Stenning hate magic and magic users, though. Well, at least where I come from anyway,” Irika said and shuddered at the memory of the debacle in the Brunn guard barracks. She really was starting to hate the mere thought of her old home city. Without her mother, it was a place of nothing but pain and constricting memories. “Apparently most people in the Mercenary State can too. Although a friend of mine is a knight from there and can’t use magic at all,” she continued, trying to push Brunn out of her mind.

Iyu seemed to be taken by surprise at the latter statement. “A knight who cannot use magic? You are friends with a knight?” she asked, leaning forward with her eyebrows raised.

Irika stifled a giggle. Iyu’s expression was all but begging to hear a story. A rather childlike reaction, Irika thought with a pang of embarrassment, realizing that she probably looked exactly like that whenever someone said something interesting that she wanted to hear about. “Yep. She’s a Landsknecht too, apparently there are only two of them who can’t use magic!” Irika bragged, and an immediately remembered that Ariel was usually trying to keep her status on the down-low. “Err… that was supposed to be a secret, please don’t tell anyone!” she added and mentally whipped herself.

Iyu’s eyebrows had disappeared into her hair, and a conspiratory smile crept up on her face. “Do not worry, I am not a… what is the word? Blab mouth? Is your friend good at fighting? I have always wanted to fight with a knight!” Iyu seemed positively beside herself with excitement compared to her usual demeanor.

“She’s very good. She has saved my life like ten times. I owe her… everything,” Irika said and felt her eyes threaten to well up. She really did miss Ariel already, even though it had been less than a day since they were last together. It made her feel foolish, childish even. She had thought herself more grown-up and independent than this.

Iyu’s eagerness softened into a smile. “Well, it sounds like we owe her much too. If without her you would not be here, and the Great White would not be dead.” she said and patted Irika on the shoulder. “Come, join me for food.”

Irika sniffed quietly and nodded. “Wait. Ummm... I've never had a meal in a chieftain's house before, is there something I should know?” she asked.

Iyu stared at her, confused. “What do you mean?”

“Like table manners or something,” Irika said, thinking of the various ways she had seen people eat at the Hilders manor. She couldn't even use a knife and fork.

Iyu snorted and burst out in laughter. “Table manners? Hah! You'll see!” she said and beckoned Irika to follow.

Irika tailed Iyu out of the room and into a narrow but curiously tall hallway. Three round windows letting in sunlight at the end of the hallway were stacked oddly high up on the wall. The doors to the three other rooms in the hallway were closed, but the one at the end opposite to the windows was open. A steady buzz of conversation with intermittent clinks and clanks could be heard in the distance, and the smell of meat was getting more mouth-watering by the step. After another slightly wider and considerably lower hallway the dining room came into sight. It was very large and full of people raising goblets and pieces of meat in obvious jubilation. Almost all of the people in the room seemed to be at least a foot taller than Irika and of similar stature to Iyu.

“ _I guess ‘young clothes’ was right_ ”, Irika thought, staring up at a bear-like man who probably could have picked her up and thrown her out of the high windows in the hallway like a javelin. The man smiled through his massive beard with every single one of his yellowish teeth and slurred out a foreign word that Irika didn’t have to understand to notice that he was very very drunk.

“The news has spread! Everyone in this room seem to believe that the Great White is dead, even if my father does not,” Iyu said and beamed at Irika. She ducked closer to Irika’s ear and lowered her voice to a whisper. “I may have been the one who spread the news!” She let out a surprisingly girly giggle.

Irika chuckled too, but stiffened up again. Did everyone in this room also know that she had been the one to ‘slay’ the dragon? What if they demanded proof? Or an explanation? There was nothing she could give them.

“Do not worry, they do not know about you. Only four people in this village know. The others will not tell if I forbid them,” Iyu said and almost dislocated Irika’s shoulder with a pat. “These people know that The Great White was slain by a great sorcerer from the south. To them, you are just a guest.”

Irika exhaled the stiffness out, followed by a tingly feeling in the pit of her stomach from being called ‘a great sorcerer’. That annoying bug in the back of her mind reminded her that it was not due to her own skill that the dragon was dead. _“I know, I know, can’t you just let me enjoy this feeling for once?”_ she reprimanded the bug. “Thank you. I’m bad at being the center of attention,” she said to Iyu. Her thoughts once more returned to Ariel, who would probably have reveled in being lauded as the hero who slayed the dragon that everyone in the room owed a debt of blood to. Now that the last bit of stress was off of her mind, Irika’s attention was free to fixate entirely on the food. Her stomach gave another longing rumble.

Iyu smiled and gestured towards the mountains of food and drink on every table. “Eat what you want, how you want!” she said simply, grabbed a piece of meat from a platter and shoved it into her mouth. “If someone talks to you, say hello! If you do not understand what they are saying, smile! Today, we feast!” She said, shouting the last three words to the entire crowd of people. A huge wave of _“HU! HU! HU!”_ chorused through the room, followed by a deafening stomping of feet and clanking of mugs and cups.

Irika goggled at the revelries. She had never seen this many people being this happy and loud, surrounded by this much food. She could probably get used to this.

 

* * *

 

After several hours of almost nonstop eating, Irika had to excuse herself from the festivities. The combination of having eaten and drunk so much and the sight of so many people devouring things with their mouths wide open made her start feeling slightly nauseous. None of the party-goers had paid any particular mind to Irika, though a few of them had toasted her so enthusiastically that most of her drinks had ended up on the floor or the table. To Irika’s nervous delight, nobody had seemed to mind the mess either. She had spotted a couple of other obvious non-natives in the crowd of Cuanmen, who were apparently a good head taller than Stenning residents on average. One of them had engaged her in a moment of slurred smalltalk, heartily complimenting the Cuanese lifestyle and recommending various alcoholic beverages. Irika had eagerly tried out most of them, and concluded that people who drink alcohol must have throats and stomachs made out of iron. She had taken a liking to the very sweet and full honeymead though.

It was probably thanks to that deceitfully tasty honeymead that she was now feeling an extremely happy buzz inside her head, despite the slight nausea She had never been this full of food in her entire life, and the heaviness in her stomach made her feel limp and sleepy. She had also never been drunk before, but the stories she had heard of spinning rooms and blurry faces turned out to be mostly true. The stuffy, pipe and tobacco smoke-laden air in the dining room wasn’t helping, and Irika’s brain was begging for a breath of fresh air. If only she knew where the front door was.

After ambling around for some time, occasionally clutching the walls for support, Irika had managed to find only a couple flights of stairs, some closed doors and some open ones with all sorts of weird noises coming from within. She reckoned going up to the roof in her condition would probably be a very bad idea, and she had absolutely no desire to find out what was going on in those rooms. Out of one of the open doors, she spotted two Cuanese women who were only slightly smaller than Iyu in stature, giggling and clanking their cups in yet another corridor.

“Ex… hic! Eksh-xcuze me, where’z the door?” Irika asked, confounded by how difficult it was to talk all of a sudden. She had a feeling the question had come out a bit wrong too.

“The door?” one of the women asked with a heavy accent. “Which one?” she looked around at the several doors in the hallway.

“I’msosorry, Imeanthe… the… front door!” Irika said, finally managing to remember what she was looking for.

The women glanced at each other, laughed and stood up. “Come on, we’ll show you the way. I don’t think you should go up the stairs alone like that,” the other woman said. She didn’t have an accent at all.

“Are you… hic! Are you from Sne… Stenning? Whatsh your name? Youzzound like you could be my neib… neighbor!” Irika said, noting the familiarity in the obviously Cuanese woman’s speech.

The woman chuckled and offered her forearm for Irika to lean on. “My name is Hama. I used to be a Cuan emissary in southern Stenning for many years.”

The other woman quietly said something that sounded to Irika like a string of upside-down syllables.

Hama snorted in laughter. “No, you dog!” she exclaimed and punched the other woman in the shoulder.

“It was just a suggestion...” the other woman said, grinning at Hama and glanced at Irika, waggling her eyebrows.

“Wha?” Irika asked, genuinely curious.

“Ignore her. She's had too much to drink,” Hama said. “Watch out for the steps.”

They started to slowly ascend the stairs at the end of the hallway. Irika was suddenly glad that she had a hand at her back pushing her forward, as her body seemed to want to lean backwards. She sort of felt like she was trying to climb up a wall. “Why are we goooing to the rooph? Roof?” she asked. Her nose found a refreshing draft of cold air and breathed it in deeply.

Hama and the other woman chuckled again. They were very jolly people! “We're not. Look,” Hama said and pointed out of the open door that had materialized in front of them out of nowhere.

Irika had to shield her eyes from the bright afternoon sun. They were standing on solid ground on top of a huge, odd mound. Several dozen other mounds covered by light snow, some topped by strange-looking stone structures, were scattered all around the one they were on. A fir forest stretched out into the mountains some ways behind the mounds. Glancing back, Irika noticed that they had emerged from one of those weird stone constructions.

“Welcome to Drettil!” Hama said and patted Irika's head, making the mounds and the forest shake up and down violently.

“Wha?” Irika asked again, genuinely curious.

The other woman laughed loudly until Hama elbowed her in the ribs. “Give it a rest, she's obviously not used to drinking,” Hama said and pointed at the structures. “They're all entrances. Drettil is a buried town. All of the houses are underground, see?” she continued and patted the sturdy-looking door attached to the pile of stone they'd come out of.

“It is a very safe town. One of the safest. Dragons do not see it from the sky and orcs cannot burn buildings,” the other woman said, looking proud.

“Ooooohhhhh! Coooooool!” Irika replied. That explained a lot about the weird house she had just exited. “What's _your_ name?” she asked the other woman and offered her hand.

“I am Tarun,” the woman said and shook Irika's hand, moving all of the mounds and the trees up and down again.

“I'm Irika, hello!” Irika said and shook Tarun's hand back, receiving another chuckle from both of the women. It didn't feel like Tarun's hand shook much, but Irika sure felt like she herself shook a lot.

“It's nice to meet you Irika. We should probably get you a cup of water and a soft bed,” Hama said and gently shepherded Irika back to the doorway they'd come from.

“I haaaave a bed! It's... so... fuzzy!” Irika said, describing her heavenly soft fur bed the best she could.

Tarun snorted and Hama hummed and smiled. “Lead me to it, then,” Hama said as she gripped Irika's arm and started walking her down the stairs. Tarun let out a whistle and a soft giggle. Hama elbowed her again. “Dog,” she said.

“Where?” Irika asked and looked around, but saw only the darkness of the stairwell and the dim lamps that lined the wall all the way down. She didn’t find the dog Hama was speaking of, but she did feel like she was walking down the inside of a water well. Her body seemed to want to bend forward an awful lot, but a strong had was preventing her from falling in. She sort of felt like she was talking about something and it seemed like Hama and Tarun were probably answering her. She couldn't tell though, seeing as her head was apparently full of mud. The final thing she realized was that she was lying extremely comfortably in a very soft bed, and then the honeymead won.


	19. The Rival and the Regret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you're sick, rest! Don't exercise! If you're hungover, rest! Don't think about difficult things!

 

_Malady_

 

By the time the town hall bell struck noon, Ariel was fully armored and packed up and walking her horse along the main road of Renette. It wasn’t a particularly grandiose road, but for such a small town it was a very busy one. Being down the road from Hilders and the first unwalled settlement on the road to Cuan, it attracted a lot of travelers, merchants and mercenaries who had either been turned away at the gates of Hilders, or who weren’t intending to enter the city in the first place.

As usual, Ariel and her unreasonable sword attracted a lot of attention. Many wives on their shopping trips stopped to stare and whisper to each other, a few brave children ran in closer to goggle and ‘ooh!’ at her sword, and some mean-looking mercenary types eyed her with barely concealed rancor from the terraces of pubs and taverns. Ariel was more than used to this sort of treatment, and equal parts glad and slightly disappointed that nobody came to actually _talk_ to her this time either. Not that she would have had the time for chitchat anyway; she needed to find the Hilders guardsman who, according to Gregor, might have information on gryphon sightings in the north.

“Ariel! Wait up!” Gregor’s cheerful voice sounded from behind her, as if summoned by her thoughts. He and his black stallion caught up with Ariel and settled into a walk next to them.

Ariel sighed. Hoping that Gregor wouldn’t notice her having left the tavern before she was out of town had probably been too much to ask for. She nodded at the ever-smiling womanizer and replied to his second good morning wishes of the day with a flat “Mmm.”

“You’re feeling better, then?” Gregor asked.

In all honestly, Ariel didn’t quite feel fit enough to travel yet. Her muscles felt like they were working at half power, her neck and shoulders ached and her head felt like she had a particularly nasty hangover. “I’m fine. I need to get going,” she said in spite of it all. She could count the times she’d been sick in her entire life with the fingers of her only hand, and every time she had gotten better within a day. “Your medicine seems to have worked,” she half-lied. She did feel better than the night she had passed out in a bush at least.

“Good, good. Are you sure you don’t want to rest for another day at least?” Gregor asked, his smile turning into an infuriatingly worried frown.

Ariel really wanted to dislike him more, but he kept teetering just on the edge between thoughtful and annoying. She stopped in her tracks and whirled around. “No. I need. To go,” she snapped at Gregor, looming over him. “The more time I waste here, the worse my chances of finding Irika become. I’ve already lost a day.”

“Of course, of course!” Gregor squeaked, shirking away from Ariel’s advancing form. “I just thought you didn’t look your best!”

Ariel humphed and tugged the horse into motion. She felt a small pang of guilt for proverbially spitting on Gregor’s mindfulness, but all of the things spinning around in her mind just made her feel impatient and angry. She wanted to fight something or to kill something, just to spite her ailing body and whatever power of the Universe was desperately trying to slow down her search. She especially wanted to find the gryphon who had humiliated her and taken Irika, and plunge her sword through its ugly head. She refused to accept that fear had paralyzed her down to her core. She refused to accept that it might happen again. Her expression, which she usually tried to keep neutral, seemed to have turned rather sour, as the group of children staring at her turned tail and ran away. The townsfolk ogling and pointing at her went awfully silent and meekly returned to their business as well. As useful as her furious countenance was in combat, it mostly tended to make a mess of things among civilians.

She almost walked past the guard barracks in her juvenile, absent-minded anger at everything. “What?!” she barked at Gregor’s clearing of his throat, and glared at the building toward which he was pointing. It was a small stone shack, with stairs leading down into a basement visible from the open front door. She would’ve mistaken it for a potato cellar if Gregor hadn’t pointed to it. She dourly tied her horse onto the beam next to the entrance and started stomping down the stairs. She had to duck her head the entire way down, which made her even less happy. The stairs ended in a short hallway with a single vacant desk against the wall. The door at the end of the hallway was open and some laughter was coming out of it. Despite having to stoop under the doorframe, Ariel walked in with her usual deliberate authority of someone who outranked everyone in the building, which made her all the more surprised when she realized that she didn’t.

The basement room was a lot larger than she would have guessed, but mostly empty. Around a small table close to the door sat three men, two with guard uniforms that resembled those of the city of Hilders, and one bearing the unmistakable blue-and-silver crested tabard of the _Burgmannschaft_ , the Erwayn Royal Guard. Erwayn was the de facto capital of the country of Stenning, although many of the city states like Brunn and Hilders held a considerable degree of sovereignty. Erwayn’s military was the largest in the land, and the Burgmannen of the King of Stenning were the most elite fighting force in the entire western continent, and a spiritual rival to the Landsknecht of the Mercenary State.

“Ah, I heard there was a merc in town! I didn’t think he’d be a she, though!” the knight of Erwayn said, half-sneering at Ariel from behind his heavy brow. “What sort of a contract are you chasing then?” he added, scanning Ariel’s armor and swords, and stopping at the insignia on her breast. His eyes narrowed, then widened.

“Classy as always, Burgmann,” Ariel growled quietly. “It’s good to know how your _band_ still insists on treating my kinsmen despite all the good they’ve wrought in the north,” she continued, deliberately stressing the word that was usually used for groups of outlaws.

“I apologize, madam. My mouth got the better of me,” the knight said, stood up and bowed with his hands at his sides, a clear gesture of shame. He was fairly tall, though still slightly shorter than Ariel, and obviously very comfortable in his heavy full plate. A particularly long cavalier sword was hanging at his hip.

“Apology accepted,” Ariel said and nodded at the Burgmann. “I’m not here on State business. I heard there was a guard here who has knowledge on the movement of gryphons in the area north of here?” she said, addressing the two town guards still sitting at the table, their mouths wide open at the high-ranking confrontation unfolding before them.

“I believe his name is Grint!” Gregor piped up from behind her. Ariel started slightly; she had almost forgotten that he had followed her.

“I reckon Grint’s finishing his rounds about now, should be back within the quarter hour,” one of the guards said.

“What a day for visitors, a Burgmann and a Landsknecht in the same room! What sort of calamity is there in store for our little Renette?” the other one said, looking between the two knights and grinning like a child in a candy store.

Ariel looked at the Burgmann, who flashed her a small apologetic smile. She sighed and walked up to him. “Ariel von Heide, Landsknecht of the Mercenary State, as you already know,” she said and extended her hand towards him. She wasn’t able to keep the slightest hint of jeer out of her last statement, but being the bigger proverbial man in this situation would be preferable to continuing to nurse her temper, if only to preserve amicable inter-city-state relations.

“Holt of Holt, Burgmann of the Crown of Stenning, as you already know,” the knight said, taking Ariel’s hand and smiling. “Yes yes, I know,” he added when Ariel raised an eyebrow at his name. “I thank my parents in heaven every day for naming me after the town I was born in.”

“Fair enough,” Ariel said, racked his greatsword into one of the free weapon racks on the wall and sat down on the chair that one of the guardsmen had pulled for her.

Gregor seated himself down between Ariel and Holt, swiveling his eyes between the two of them. “I’m sensing some rivalry here!” he said bluntly.

Holt chuckled. Ariel sighed again. Her life seemed to be oddly sighful lately.

“You’re not wrong,” Holt said, nodding at Gregor. “There’s an ongoing contest of bravado between the two of our sects on which one is stronger. It’s particularly hard to settle when we’re happily allied, though petty insults and off-hand remarks usually cover most of it.”

“Why not hold a tournament of some sort?” Gregor said, flourishing an invisible sword over the table.

Holt paused for a moment, raised his eyebrows, puckered his mouth and looked at Ariel. “Hmm. Something to think about!” he said.

Ariel too surprised herself by actually considering the proposal as well. Tournaments were a thing of the past for the most part, though some civilian cities and some mercenary groups still held various forms of competitions or other such events for entertainment or for settling petty disputes. “I’ll send word to Capital City, that may actually not be a bad idea to consider in the future,” she said.

“It might be good for morale too!” Holt chorused and patted Gregor on the shoulder.

Gregor looked flabbergasted for a few seconds, then lit up into his widest, toothiest grin yet. “You could call it the Gregor Tournament for the genius who came up with the idea!” he said.

All three men around the table burst out in laughter. Even Ariel found her mood lifting slightly. She had a sudden, impossibly strong urge to be competing for the title of the strongest knight in the land. No doubt Holt felt it too.

“You mentioned gryphons,” Holt said, instantly going from mirthful to serious. “That is a part of why I’m here as well. I’ve been travelling the northern border, looking for clues and accounts on the increased activity of all sorts of winged beasts well over in Stenning.”

The information that sightings had increased all over northern Stenning instead of just the east shocked Ariel much less than she would’ve thought. “I’ve witnessed this as well. I slew a young blue dragon all the way in Alaum, and I’m chasing a gryphon that was pestering farmers just north of Hilders,” she said.

“Alaum?” Holt said, his face lighting up in surprise. “If that’s true, it’s the farthest out from the Cuan mountain range that we’ve heard of.” He rubbed his temple and stared at Ariel. “What could be driving them this far south from their native habitats?”

“Beats me, I’m not too savvy on animal behavior. All I know is that…” Ariel paused for a moment. The unearthly message she had heard after her dream floated in the forefront of her thoughts. Was it somehow connected to all this? Was there something supernatural driving winged creatures away from the depths of Cuan? “All I know is that it’s unusual enough to investigate,” she concluded. There had definitely been something unusual with Irika and the gryphon’s meeting as well, but she decided to leave her out of the conversation. The last time Irika had been involved in the sudden appearance of creatures outside of their native land, she had been one-sidedly blamed for it all.

I agree with you there,” Holt said, leaned back and stared at the stony ceiling. “There haven’t been any major incidents so far apart from some stolen cattle. But such a significant influx of creatures that most of the common folk consider extremely rare and dangerous, if not outright god-like, is a social and economical hazard of its own.”

Ariel nodded, not taking in much of the political speculation. Her top priority right now was Irika. If she found out what was causing the odd sightings on the side, all the better. “Like I said, I’m here on a personal errand. But if I find anything pertaining to the creatures, I’ll let Erwayn know as well,” she said.

“Much appreciated,” Holt said and gave Ariel a seated mercenary knight salute. His eyes swiveled over to Ariel’s greatsword hanging in the rack on the wall, then at her cape-covered left side. “Did you know that your name is actually somewhat famous amongst the knights of Erwayn, miss von Heide?” he asked, the corner of his mouth twitching.

“Let me guess, ‘ _The Mercenary State sure has fallen low, allowing crippled womenfolk into their ranks!_ ’,” Ariel mimicked with her nose held up high in the air, summoning the most pompous a voice she could muster. “You wanna try a swing?” she continued, pointing at her sword with her thumb over her shoulder.

Gregor poorly masked a snort of laughter as a cough. Holt frowned. He stared at Ariel’s odd sword on the wall. “An executioner style ceremonial blade? An odd choice for a frontline fighter,” he said, stood up and walked to the pearlescent sword. He grabbed the hilt single-handed, scrunched his brow and barely lifted it off the rack. It slid off the rack's prongs and fell onto the floor with a dull thunk, its tip sinking about a quarter of an inch into the stone. “Whoa,” Holt said quietly.

“What’s up?” Ariel asked, smiling sweetly at him. She stood up too, tilted her head and ducked down slightly to peer at his cavalier blade. “A bit more heft than you’re used to?”

“Certainly,” Holt said, lifting the sword up to chest level, two-handed this time. He looked up at the low ceiling and let the sword back down. “We’ll need more room. Outside?”

“There’s a small clearing just behind the chute, we’ve set up training dummies for practice there,” one of the guards said, completely unable to hide his excitement at the prospect of seeing an elite knight’s swordplay.

Holt hoisted Ariel’s sword onto his shoulder with a grunt and started walking up the stairs out of the barracks without a word. Ariel smirked to herself, stood up and followed suit. Maybe this would be the small victory she needed to brighten her mood while waiting for Grint the guardsman to show up with information.

Holt, Ariel, Gregor and the two Renette guards rounded the entrance shelter into the clearing directly on top of the underground barracks. Several scarecrow-like wooden training dummies lined the clearing, and in the middle stood a thick wooden pole with multiple prongs sticking out at different heights, riddled with slash marks and missing splinters. The makeshift practice spot made Ariel miss the Capital City training grounds.

The two guards pointed Holt to the most beaten-up looking training dummy. “This one’s almost busted, feel free to chop it to bits!” one of them said. The other nodded furiously next to him with a mad glint in his eyes.

Holt gripped the hilt of Ariel’s sword and lifted it off his shoulder, letting out a hiss of air through his teeth. He brought the tip of the sword to eye level, held it there for a couple of seconds, then lifted it and brought it down on the dummy. His strike was sluggish, yet it cut straight through the dummy from the right shoulder to the left hip, sending a barrage of splinters flying. Holt strained to stop the sword’s arc before it hit the ground, and failed. The heft of the sword made him stumble forward a bit as the blade sank into the grass, but he caught himself with the reflexes of a trained knight, letting one of his hands off the hilt. Gregor and the Renette guardsmen whooped.

“Whoa,” he said again, turning the sword hilt-up and pulling it out of the turf. “Really,” he muttered to himself and turned to look at Ariel’s cape. “Is it true? Can it be true? With a sword like this?”

Ariel threw her shoulder cape onto her back and revealed her armless side. “Certainly,” she said and smiled at Holt. The two Renette guards recoiled away from Ariel slightly and stared at her shoulder with thoroughly amusing expressions on their faces. It really did _never_ get old.

Holt walked to Ariel and handed her sword over. “Show me,” he said. It sounded in part a challenge and in part sheer boyish awe at the concept.

Ariel grabbed her beloved sword, let it fall down to the ground and swiveled it up onto her shoulder with a motion she had practiced thousands upon thousands of times. Holt stared at the blade lying flat on Ariel’s shoulder. Ariel stared at the small notch her sword had made on Holt’s steel shoulder pad.

“It’s _very_ sharp, carrying it edgewise will ruin your gear,” Ariel said and gave Holt a cheeky wink.

Holt brushed the notch on her shoulder pad with his fingers and smirked at Ariel. “Noted,” he said.

“I recommend a few steps back,” Ariel said and walked to the next dummy over. She stopped a few yards away from the unfortunate wooden humanoid and let her sword fall to the ground. She drew a deep breath and flexed the muscles in her arm lightly. An annoying lameness set in almost immediately. She would’ve loved to give the audience a proper show, but she would have to settle for whatever she could do in her current not-quite-healthy condition. She stared at the dummy for a while, then glanced at the training post in the middle of the clearing.

Her health be damned. It was her pride as a warrior, and the pride of the Landsknecht on the line after all. Another deep breath. Ariel took a rapid double step forward, dragging her sword behind her like a plow. She gave it a mighty tug and propped its long hilt against her elbow to lift it off the ground, then flexed her arm to rotate its tip up into the air. She took a quick step back to bring the blade to her front, propped her elbow against her side and pushed the sword forward with the strength of her entire body. The flat tip of the sword struck the bullseye of the dummy’s throat, sending its head spinning through the air in a graceful arc.

Everyone’s eyes were glued to the tumbling wooden head, but Ariel was already turning the other way. She took two long, rotating steps towards the thick training column and spun her sword into furious speed. The muscles in her arm screamed with strain as she slashed at the trunk-like pole with an intent that she usually saved for her mortal enemies. The glittering blade cut clean through the column, exiting its side with significantly less splintering than Holt had managed to extract out of the small dummy. Ariel let her sword lead her for a moment, before gracefully whirling it around and landing it back onto her shoulder with a sharp exhale. The training post groaned and wobbled on the bisection point for a short moment, and then settled into place as if nothing had ever happened.

“What…?” one of the Renette guards gaped.

“Im… impressive,” Holt stuttered, and his face showed it. “What on earth is that sword made out of?” he asked.

“It’s a secret!” Gregor said, brought his finger to his lips in a hushing gesture and winked at Holt.

Ariel took another deep breath. The muscles in her side and arm were twitching and threatening to cramp. She focused hard to relax herself and quiet down the crescendo of her beating heart, which was hammering a tad too hard given the amount of strain. Feeling this physically weak and having an ailing body that didn’t work as well as she expected it to work was the most infuriating thing in the world.

“Ho there!” came a shout from the direction of the town. A third guardsman dressed in the same garb as the other two was walking towards the barracks. “What are y’all doing back here?” he asked.

“Grint! Come see this!” one of the other guards hollered, examining the subtle cut in the still standing wooden pole.

Grint the guardsman started for the beckon, but Ariel intercepted him. “You’re Grint? You have information on gryphon sightings in the north?” she asked, more forcefully than she had intended.

Grint recoiled slightly. His eyes scanned Ariel’s sword and armor, and stopped on her knight’s crest. “Yes, that’s right. I assume you’re in need of said information, Lady Knight?” he asked and gave Ariel a small bow after collecting himself admirably quickly.

“Yes. Time is of the essence. Do you have a map?” Ariel asked.

“Down in the barracks. Let’s go,” Grint replied and motioned Ariel to follow.

Ariel clasped her sword onto her back and followed. Finally someone who understood and appreciated urgency.

 

 

_Mistakes Pave the Way_

 

Irika’s head was pounding. It was not the dull, throbbing kind of headache borne from a knock on the head, nor the stagnant, ever-present sort of soreness caused by thirst or hunger. This was an evil, sharp ache that magnified the gentle beams of light filtering in from the doorway into a blinding white mess, and every quiet clatter from the hallway into a cavalcade of hammers thrashing inside Irika’s skull. Every little movement she made amidst the furs of her bed brought her stomach closer to her mouth. The silky soft comfort from the previous morning had turned into a self-inflicted hell.

“ _No wonder mother warned me about alcohol,_ ” Irika thought. Even thinking seemed to cause her swollen head to protest in pain. She managed to open her eyes just enough to notice a wooden pitcher and mug next to her bedframe. She gingerly dragged the pitcher closer with a shaking hand and peered inside. It looked like water. The concept of putting anything in her mouth was enough to make Irika retch a little, but she vaguely remembered water being especially important when drinking alcohol. She tipped half of the water in the pitcher into the mug and the other half onto the floor, and managed to pour most of the mugful into her mouth. The water was cold and refreshing and seemed to make her stomach retreat a little. After a few more mugfuls she almost felt like a sentient creature made of solid matter again.

“How is your head?” asked Iyu who had materialized into the doorway. Her smile was almost too understanding, despite her shouting. Or maybe the latter part was just inside Irika’s head.

“I’m. Ungh,” Irika said, wondering why her tongue seemed to be glued to the roof of her mouth. She heaved a little bit again, but managed to keep her dinner in.

“You should let it out. It is not pleasant but it will help,” Iyu said, walked over to Irika’s bedframe and slid a wooden bucket in front of her face from the shadow of the pitcher. Irika grabbed the bucket and puked her guts out as if on command.

Iyu patted her gently on the head. “You should definitely get some more meat on your bones before you try to adopt the Cuan way of celebration,” she said and picked up the empty water pitcher and the half-full bucket. “I will bring you more water and a little something to eat."

Irika felt marginally better already, as if a poison were being purged from her body. Her headache still remained just as splitting as before though, and she didn’t dare to answer Iyu aloud in fear of another wave of nausea. She hugged one of the bedding furs against her stomach and settled for a slow nod. She followed Iyu’s bear-like form out of the door with her eyes and realized that it was morning – again. From what she remembered, it hadn’t even been sundown yet when she had visited the outside of the chief’s home. Or… had she really even done that? Or had that been a dream? She vaguely remembered going up to the roof but ending up on the ground level instead. It was hard to tell with her mind being the consistency of pea soup.

Her week just kept getting stranger. She’d never as much as tasted juniper gin in her life before yesterday, and here she was, hungover from an entire day of binging food and mead. Every new experience she’d had lately seemed so exaggerated that it made her want to laugh, except laughing right now would most likely result in the rest of her dinner on the floor. Feeling miserable from something self-inflicted was also an entirely new experience for her, but somehow a refreshing one. Despite the fast onset of her inebriation thanks to the deceptive sweetness of the mead, in the end she had made the conscious decision to drink copious amounts of alcohol, and was now reaping the rewards. She owned the mistake. It was hers.

Iyu returned with a fresh pitcher of water and a bread roll, and sat down on the floor next to Irika. “You are not the drinking type, I assume?” she asked with a lopsided grin.

“No,” Irika said after a deep, bracing breath. Her own voice sounded way too loud. “I’ve never drunk alcohol at all,” she said much more quietly. It dawned on her just how dumb she had been, getting drunk enough to lose consciousness in an unfamiliar place. She had reveled in the praise Iyu had showered upon her and thoroughly let down her guard. Her mother would be furious. “And I don’t think I’ll ever drink again,” she concluded with a sad hiccup for emphasis.

Iyu laughed softly. “I probably should have warned you. That was my failure as a host. Our mead tends to be stronger than most,” she said and poured Irika another mug of water and handed it over with the bread roll. “Most foreign people end up like you during their first visit to Cuan. We love to drink and we love to throw feasts. I imagine it is a lot to get used to. Luckily we do not have any muggers or other criminals running around here in the smaller tribes; the worst thing that can happen to you is falling asleep in the cold.”

Irika hazily remembered most of the events of the previous day, but the very last bits after leaving the brightness and loudness of the dining room were a blur. She felt like someone had helped her out. Small hill-like mounds of earth and snow also had something to do with it. She had started to nibble on the bread roll without noticing, pondering why she thought that people lived inside those mounds. The strong taste of salt and yeast on her tongue made her stomach slowly drop back down into its proper place, and made her realize that she was hungry again. Her gluttonous stomach wouldn’t even allow for a moment of quiet shame.

“Breakfast is being served,” Iyu said and stared at Irika. “It feels like I said the same thing the last time we spoke. Perhaps this time we will speak more instead of just drinking.” She smiled and winked at Irika and stood up to leave.

Soon enough Irika had managed to wrench herself out of bed despite her sore head, and was sitting at the breakfast table next to Iyu. Opposite her sat two slightly less alarmingly huge women who looked quite familiar. The one sitting on the left had reddish brown hair tied into a series of ornate braids. The right hand one’s hair was almost as black as Irika’s, cropped into a short wolftail with the sides of her head shaved. Both of their eyes were brown and both of them were smiling at her.

“Did you have a rough morning?” the woman sitting on the left asked with a perfect Stenning accent.

A hazy memory of a woman who looked strikingly similar to the one sitting in front of her, doing some kind of vague church work in front of the Brunn cathedral flashed through Irika’s mind. She had no idea where it had come from or what it meant, but it certainly didn’t feel like she had met this woman quite that long ago. She hadn’t even seen the cathedral yard more than a handful of times. Then, realization struck her like lightning. “You’re the estiary! We spoke last night!” she exclaimed, then clutched her head to stop her brain from rattling around.

The woman looked puzzled. “Estiary? Do you mean… emissary? And yes, we did speak last night.”

“Yes, that, emissary. Your name is…” Irika said, rubbing her temples and trying to clear the murky, drunken fog off of her memories.

The woman chuckled. “My name is Hama and this is Tarun,” she said and gestured at the other woman who nodded. “You had quite the… jolly evening didn’t you?” she asked, grinning widely.

“Ugh… I-I’m really sorry for whatever I may have said or done yesterday…” Irika began, but Hama held her hand up and hummed.

“No harm done, you were very charming, actually!” she said, Tarun nodding and smiling next to her.

“Hama was one of the hunters who were with me that night. Who saw you slay the Great White,” Iyu said and pushed a platter of bread and meat in front of Irika. “And Tarun you can trust. She hunts well, and often tends to the children of the tribe when their parents are on the hunt or bartering.”

Irika stared at Hama whilst chewing on the piece of beef jerky she had put in her mouth without even noticing.

Hama smiled like the sun and grasped Irika’s free hand across the table. Her hands were about twice the size of Irika’s. “You have done us all a service we may never be able to pay back. And me, personally.” Her smile took a sudden sad tint. “My parents and my brother were all killed by the Great White, or her brood. Having the damned beast gone from our lives means security that our tribe has not dared to dream of for decades, if not centuries.”

Irika swallowed the jerky down through the lump in her throat. Emotion threatened to overtake her. A small piece of that gnawing guilt from before still remained, but what did it matter where the amazing power to destroy such a giant creature had come from in the end? If she could touch someone’s life this deeply, it was all for good. “I just did it so that I wouldn’t get eaten,” she said and put the half-eaten piece of jerky back onto her plate. She found herself having a hard time looking Hama in the eye. “But I’m really glad that it helped someone,” she finished.

Hama looked like she didn’t know whether to grin or cringe. “Just… so that you wouldn’t get eaten?” she asked incredulously. “Any of us hunters would just hide or run away. And so many of us have failed over the years. You _erased_ that dragon. There was _nothing left._ ”

“I don’t know much about magic, but I do know about the instinct to protect yourself and those you love,” Tarun interjected. Hama glanced at her and nodded morosely.

“It wasn’t just me. Something was helping me, I don’t-“ Irika was struggling to find the words for the umpteenth time. Her headache only got worse the more she tried to wrack her brain. A small wave of nausea was trying to fight its way up for a revisit.

Iyu laid a gentle hand on Irika’s downturned head. “It is fine. We all wish to understand and be certain, of course, but _you_ do not need to carry that burden,” she said and pushed more food under Irika’s nose. “We will send a scouting group to the north in any case. We must investigate the nearest roosts of the Great White,” she continued and looked at Hama.

Hama nodded and looked at Tarun, who shook her head. “I am taking care of the tanner and his brother’s children tonight until they return from Cuanwar,” she said.

“Could I come with the scouting group?” Irika asked. Everyone turned to stare at her. She felt like the piercing stares of the three giant women made her body physically shrink.

“Why?” Iyu asked.

“Something… something is drawing me to the north, I guess. And I want to know what happened just as much as you do,” she explained. That much she was sure of, even in the complete absence of any details on what the mysterious being who had visited her body and mind wanted from her.

The women looked at each other. Then at Irika. “Drawing you to the north? There is nothing but mountains and ice for hundreds of miles, all the way until the coast,” Iyu said. She pondered for a long moment, staring at Irika with with her unnervingly golden, unblinking eyes. “If you wish to accompany us, I understand. You may have a hard time following our pace, though,” she added, aiming her stare at Irika’s thin arms.

“I’m sturdier than I look. And you loaned me clothes, I’ll be fine, I think” Irika said, despite having no idea whether or not she actually would be. She had only ever seen snow a few odd times in her entire life, and had definitely never had to walk through a thick layer of it in a harsh mountain environment. But this was her best bet at being able to keep heading north to who- or whatever it was that wanted her there. Even if she couldn’t make it all the way, maybe she would at least get another sign or a clue as to where she was supposed to go or what she was supposed to do.

“It’s not like we have to rush up the range,” Hama said and tapped Irika’s hand. “We can adjust our stride. What did the Elder say about the weather?” she added to Iyu.

“He sees clear skies for a week. The snow is melting faster than usual, so we will have to be careful. Going slow will be good,” Iyu responded and stood up. Hama and Tarun followed suit. Irika was about to stand up too, but Iyu’s huge hand pushed her back down. “You sit and eat. We will leave tomorrow at the very earliest. Maybe the day after tomorrow. You have enough time to get stronger,” she said and turned her grip on Irika’s head into a small pat.

Irika goggled up at Iyu. Her selfish request to join the scouting party had been accepted without a complaint, so the least she could do was to regain her strength and nurse her idiotic hangover. She definitely didn’t want to be a burden to the hunters heading north, but this time she also wanted to persevere for her own sake. The mystifying, gnawing curiosity on what could possibly be luring her into the north was overpowering. So much so, that she had barely had time to think about Ariel, the manhunters from the Mercenary State, or any of the other things she had left behind in Stenning. Irika watched the three women leave, absent-mindedly chewing on a piece of chicken and letting her thoughts roam. Soon enough they found their way to Ariel.

Irika had a hard time focusing on that moment in the Hilders forest, when she had last seen Ariel. The mysterious being had overtaken her; she remembered what had happened, but couldn’t tell which memories and emotions had been her own, and which ones had been the being’s. The words it had spoken to Irika, which at the time had felt warm and reassuring, now felt lukewarm and slightly hollow. _‘You will meet again’_. She had already been almost eaten by a gigantic dragon once, and was likely soon going to head into the frigid north to face who knows how many more dangerous things, all at the behest of this unknown invader of her body and mind.

Even after having had a day to think for herself, she still couldn’t doubt that being. It had done too much for her. But she nevertheless wondered whether she was doing the right thing. Usually, difficult decisions like this came down to a battle between heart and reason, but this time it was her heart alone that was being tugged in different directions; back south to Ariel, and up north to whatever muddled destiny awaited her there. She was just poor, dirty Irika from the slums of Brunn. Grand, fable-like decisions like this weren’t hers to make. She still couldn’t think of herself of some kind of heroic dragon slayer and lifesaver either, like the way she thought of Ariel. Ariel would surely know what to do in her situation. And even if she didn’t, she’d charge ahead to whichever decision suited her instincts the most.

Irika stood up. She hadn’t particularly eaten her fill, but her appetite was gone. She walked back to the bedroom, sat on the lone wooden chair and picked up the beautiful, white sword that seemed to be shining gently even in the dimness of the room. _'Ines'_ , Ariel had called it. The meaning behind the name of this sword and the others still remained a mystery to Irika, but the sound of it raised an odd sort of wistfulness within Irika's heart. _'Ines'._ Its edge was absolutely flawless, despite the dozens of goblins it had slain in Irika’s hands several days ago, and who knows what it had cut in Ariel’s hands prior to that. Just holding the sword in her hands made Irika’s palms feel tingly, as if her magic was itching to be channeled through it. Irika stared at her right palm, where the odd twine-like pattern still remained. She pushed the handle of the sword against the pattern and rolled the leather-woven hilt across her palm. The indentation in her hand matched the wrapping of the hilt perfectly.

“Huh,” she said out loud. A small, warm twinge pushed through the slight numbness in her palm. She gripped the handle of the sword again, stood up and swung it once. The sword felt somehow lighter than before. She gave a few more tentative swings and stabs with the blade, and then sheathed it into its leather scabbard. She was by no means a swordsman, but now she at least knew how to defend herself a little. Against goblins if nothing else, possibly even an orc. Irika absent-mindedly rubbed her left side, the place where she had been stabbed just outside of the city of Brunn. The wound had all but healed, but not by her own magic nor the one of her mysterious benefactor. Instead she had been haphazardly patched up in Brunn, and then properly healed by Ries over the next week. That Ariel happened to seek asylum on the one farmstead where a healer made her home stood as yet another miraculous circumstance on her wild journey.

It occurred to Irika that she had forgotten to write Ries like she had promised. A cavalcade of excuses came to her mind, but none of them seemed grave enough to justify breaking her promise, considering that she‘d had plenty of time in Hilders to write, and that she had plenty of time right now. She set Ariel’s sword down on the chair gently like a fragile ornament, despite knowing well it was practically unbreakable, and looked around. The bedroom was very barebones, only containing the bedframes against the cold stony floor and the one wooden chair. No pen nor parchment could be found here.

She peeked her head out of the bedroom. One of the previously closed doors in the hallway was open and the dim orange flickering of a fire was issuing through it into the sunkissed hallway. Irika tiptoed to the open door and peered inside. A fireplace was gently lighting the back of the room. Someone was sitting partially in front of the fireplace, casting a large, vaguely human-shaped silhouette against the flame. The person was holding a piece of parchment, unmoving and evidently lost in deep thought.

“Excuse me?” Irika called out quietly. The silhouette didn’t react. “Ex- excuse me?” she called slightly louder.

“Hm?” the shade hummed in a deep, gruff voice and shifted towards the door. “What?” he growled.

Irika shuddered slightly, but recognized the voice. It was the same one Iyu had been arguing with the previous morning. “U-umm… do you happen to know where I could find a pen and some paper?” she asked.

The shade stood up and covered the flickering glow of the fireplace almost completely. The man was about as tall as the room itself and almost impossibly wide for a human being. Irika couldn’t help but shirk away as the person strode towards her.

“You are Iyu’s guest. The sorcerer,” the man said. It was not a question.

“Y-yes!” Irika answered regardless. Iyu had assured that Irika would be safe here, but something about this giant of a man made Irika want to flee.

The man raised his hand towards Irika. Irika flinched. The man flicked open a gas lamp on the wall next to the door and set it alight. Irika felt foolish.

“Come in,” he said and strode to an enormous desk apparently carved from a single, huge piece of unadorned deadwood. He sat down behind the desk and indicated a cushioned stool in front of it. He lit another lamp atop the desk, revealing his surprisingly beardless, angular face. A short, red stubble shaded his jawline and his expression wasn’t as hard as Irika would’ve thought based on his voice.

“I will give you what you need if you speak with me for a while,” he said and templed his fingers in front of his face.

Irika sat down on the stool, opened her mouth and nodded when nothing came out of it. This was probably going to be the interrogation she’d been dreading her entire time here.


	20. The Chieftains and the Chills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Irika gets to know TWO tribal leaders! And Ariel gets to know what it means to really run yourself ragged. One of these things is not a good thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wew this one took a while. Work has been hecka busy. Expect a lot more frequent chapters come June when I'm on V A C A T I O N ! (Or not when I decide to play video games instead.)
> 
> Seems I brainfarted somewhere around chapter 8 and started calling the Mercenary State the Military State instead, and then that brainfart just kept going and going and going... It's should all be fixed now though! Mercenary State is the correct name for Ariel's homeland. If you notice other dumb mistakes like that, plz be my editor for absolutely no compensation and lemme know!
> 
> Also went around fixing a bunch of small clunkinesses throughout the story while I was at it. I feel like I could write the entire beginning much better at this point but I'm not gonna, seeing as I still have a long way to go in terms of writing the current story better.
> 
> Which is a GREAT segue to mention that I don't actually plan this story ahead much to begin with, so it was heading full speed towards a non-trivial time inconsistency. So I duct taped a part of chapter 18 and the bits of chapter 19 that refer to it, so that Ariel and Gregor pulled an almost-all-nighter riding, and Ariel was actually knocked out for an entire day afterwards, aided by Gregor's 'medicine'. Potent stuff. She's never touching it again. Ever.
> 
> I'm going to have to retcon a bunch of the inter-city distances I made as a reference for myself way back in chapter 1 too, as Ariel and Irika's journey kinda stretched way longer distancewise than I anticipated. I should probably make an actual map, huh...  
> /rant

 

_Interview_

 

The man pulled out a bottle of golden-hued liquid from under his desk and poured it into two glasses. He pushed one of them in front of Irika and grunted.

Irika eyed the glass of what looked suspiciously like honeymead. She wondered which would be worse, drinking more of the devilish liquid that still had her head in a vice, or rejecting this giant man’s offering. Before she had come to a decision, the man spoke. “It is low in alcohol. It should be suitable for children, no need to worry.”

A pang of outrage fought its way through the horror of having to tell the story of her arrival to this man. “I’m of age!” she said hotly, grabbed the glass, downed it in one go and regretted it immediately. The drink was just as heavenly soft and sweet as it had been yesterday, and Irika couldn’t help but feel it was a huge mistake to drink more of it, even if it was ‘low in alcohol’. It sure did feel good on her tongue and in her brain, though.

“Oh? Then you are… how old?” the man asked, raising his eyebrows. His face had an odd softness for how large and imposing he was.

“Eighteen. Nineteen this summer. I think.” Irika said and plopped the glass back down onto the table. She was – or rather her mother had been – fairly certain of her age, but her actual date of birth was unknown to her. Her mother had told her she must have been born in the summer, though Irika didn’t actually know what she had based that on.

The man’s eyebrows rose even higher. “Then you are almost the same age as my Iyu. She will be twenty this summer.”

“Yeah, I… w-what?” Irika had already surmised that this man must be the chieftain and thus Iyu’s father. The news that Iyu was only a year older than her hit her like a cartful of bricks. “She’s nineteen? How the heck is she so big?” she asked without thinking.

The chieftain snorted and laughed. And then laughed some more. Irika flinched a little with every booming laugh that bored straight into her skull. “She _is_ big, isn’t she? I imagine it is because her parents are big. My wife was almost as tall as her, you know, and Iyu’s older brother is even taller than I am,” the man said and gulped down his glassful of honeymead. “But if you ask me, it’s you Stenning folk who are _small._ ”

Irika couldn’t even fathom someone being taller than the man in front of her. Ariel was very tall and easily dwarfed the vast majority of Stenning residents, but this man was just _huge,_ even by the standards of the people of Cuan. “How come Iyu is the vice-chieftain if she has an older brother?” Irika asked.

“Her brother Roar is enlisted in Cuanheim. He leads one of the defensive fortifications, and he leads it well,” the man said and nodded to himself proudly. “I trained both of them from childhood, they are among the best warriors and hunters in the land despite their youth.” The man extended his vast hand across the table. “I am Ragna, the chieftain of this tribe. Or, this district, I should say. The nation of Cuan is trying to move to a ‘more modern form of government’ and do away with the notion of tribes,” the chieftain explained in response to Irika’s blank expression.

Irika shook Ragna’s huge hand, trying not to think that he could crush hers like a grape with a strong squeeze. “What’s wrong with having tribes?” she asked. Her tongue seemed particularly loose with the questioning. She figured it was the ‘low alcohol content’ in the mead.

“Nothing, if you ask me,” Ragna said, but sighed heavily. “Well, maybe they promote seclusion and conservatism just a bit too much. Tribes have historically tended to stick to themselves, but the modern bartering society loves freedom of passage and trade. I can definitely see the benefits; they have made our tribe – village – more comfortable and well-equipped as well.”

He poured another glass of mead for himself and offered to pour one for Irika. Irika shook her head perhaps a bit too vigorously and winced in pain right after. The chief merely smiled. “And it has the benefit of bringing interesting visitors like yourself to our village. My daughter claims that you have killed the Great White.”

Here it was, straight to the point. Ragna was still smiling slightly, but his penetrating stare belied the seriousness of the question.

“I- I think I did. I’m pretty sure I did,” Irika replied, hoping that he wouldn’t ask for the details.

“How?” Ragna asked, crushing her hopes instantly.

She had answered – or rather failed to answer – the same question twice already. She still didn’t want to divulge everything about the unearthly presence within her and the mysterious quest pushed upon her, until she had talked with a friend. Until she had talked with Ariel. “You already know that I’m a sorcerer… or sorceress? Anyway, something has been giving me power and I have no idea who or what it is but I do know it doesn’t particularly like dragons, though,” Irika prattled rapidly in a single breath and had to catch it afterwards. The last part was only a feeling that she had, but she thought it might make Ragna more amicable toward her haphazard explanation.

Ragna stared at Irika for a long, unnerving moment. His eyes were sky blue instead of gold, but exactly the same shape as Iyu’s, and exactly as unblinking. “I see,” he finally said. Irika could tell that he wasn’t satisfied with the explanation. “You must understand that the Great White has been a plague upon the southern tribes for generations. Hundreds of warriors have perished trying to bring her down, and even more hunters and regular people have died because of her distemper. I cannot believe that she is truly gone, not so easily, even with the word of my own daughter.”

Irika couldn’t find fault in Ragna’s reasons. After all, she could hardly believe that she had dispatched the enormous wyrm herself, even though she had been right there doing it.

Before Irika could figure out what to say, Ragna spoke again. “If you truly possess such power, there is something I would ask of you. My daughter is planning a scouting party to seek the nearest roosts and nests of the Great White. It would bring me great ease if someone with your power would accompany them.”

Irika felt extraordinarily awkward being addressed like some all-powerful wizard, going as far as to mention her _great powers_ twice in one sitting. She squirmed in her chair and decided to push past that point. “I actually already asked Iyu whether I could join,” she replied.

Ragna looked surprised. “Truly?” he asked.

“Yes. I want to know what happened to the Great… to the dragon. I want to know where my power came from. I think the answer is somewhere in the north,” Irika explained, remembering to breathe this time around.

Ragna pondered for a moment, never letting his eyes stray from Irika’s. “I assume you know that there is nothing in the north,” he said. Irika nodded. Ragna turned his stare to the fireplace for a moment. “Then, it would seem that our interests align,” he said. Irika nodded again. “You have been provided warm clothes?” Ragna asked.

Irika nodded once more. Ragna sighed. “Very well. I shall give my blessing to Iyu’s expedition,” he said and stood up.

Irika stood up as well, not knowing what else to do. Ragna just kept staring down at her from around the ceiling and making her supremely uncomfortable.

“It does not seem like you are a bad sort of character. But I know better than to blindly trust magic to solve our problems so easily,” Ragna said in a low growl and leaned forward menacingly with his palms on the table. “I feel obligated to warn you that if your or your magic do anything to hurt our tribe or our people, we will hunt you.”

Irika shuddered violently. The absolute last thing she wanted was another group of people trying to catch or kill her. She opened her mouth but once again nothing game out, so she gave yet another shaky nod.

Ragna smiled that oddly soft smile again. “Just a cursory warning. I am by no means an unerring leader; if it does turn out that you are some malicious wizard in disguise, I would be none the wiser. But like I said, I have a hard time believing that you are.” He rounded the table and patted Irika’s head much the same, brain-shaking way that Iyu had. “And if it turns out that you really are simply a young girl who is lost in more ways than one, we will do our best to help. You may stay in Drettil as long as you wish. My Iyu seems to have taken a liking to you, and any friend of hers is an important guest of mine.

Irika exhaled the breath she’d been holding for what seemed like half an hour. The butterflies gradually stopped doing cartwheels in her stomach and her legs felt wobbly. She certainly wasn’t the bravest person in the world, but it was still fairly astounding how much pressure a person could exert on her simply by staring at her and talking calmly. Ragna was a chieftain alright, and Irika would never ever want to face him as an enemy.

 

* * *

 

Irika went from being interrogated by the chieftain of the tribe into sitting in a hunting council way too quickly for her taste. Both of these things were something she considered well above her humble stature, but Iyu had insisted she join the council session, so now she was sat next to her. It didn’t seem like an awfully official sort of meeting though, as Irika looked around the table lined with huge Cuansmen talking animatedly and sipping various alcoholic beverages. Hama caught Irika’s eye from a couple seats along the table and gave her a small wave. Irika waved back and felt oddly giddy that someone was aiming attention at her. She doubted anyone else present had even noticed she was there.

Iyu stood up and motioned for silence. The chatter quieted down immediately and all eyes were upon her. Irika second-hand-shuddered at the thought of being stared at by so many giant, muscular hunters, but Iyu seemed to be entirely in her element as she spoke with the group in her native tongue. Irika tried to pick out words that she had heard before or that sounded familiar. The Cuanese language sounded rougher and more monotonous than what Irika was used to. Words like ‘drago’ and ‘hjeng’ seemed to repeat and get emphasized a lot, which led Irika to surmise that they meant ‘dragon’ and ‘hunt’.

Irika was slightly jarred when Iyu suddenly switched languages to the one she knew much better. “Irika here will accompany us. She is not an experienced hunter, but has the heart of one, despite being from Stenning, so teach her all you can. We will make her a hunter worthy of Cuan!”

Everybody around the table whooped and hollered various words of encouragement to Irika, raising their goblets and mugs. Irika’s face burned.

“Did you have to?” she timidly asked Iyu as she sat back down.

Iyu grinned at her. “Might as well make the most of it, yes?” She raised her goblet to Irika as well. “I cannot give you a statue but at least I can give you a toast. I was surprised that you wanted to come along.”

Irika had to think for a moment. In the past she would have preferred to stay safe at home. Even back at Ries and Ferdinand’s ranch, she had seriously considered staying. But after hearing the story of their artist of a daughter seeking her fortune in the great wide world, something opportunistic in her mind had wanted to take the chance and see a bit more of Stenning herself. Then, at Lady Hilders’ mansion, it had truly dawned on her for the first time in her life just how huge the world is, and how many amazing and interesting things there are to see. Her head still throbbed, but excitement of some sort at the concept of joining a hunt was starting to push through, even if it was merely a scouting mission. “I want to learn more about my powers and I want to learn more about the world,” she said. She couldn’t put it more eloquently than that.

But Iyu nodded appreciatively. “I understand that feeling. I have been hunting in this part of Cuan for all of my life. My duties keep me here, but I would like to travel and see other things besides snow and stone and fir trees.”

“Your duties as vice-chieftain?” Irika asked tentatively. It was hard for her to put herself in the shoes of someone whose future had been made for her since birth.

“Yes. Usually the oldest son would carry that title, but my older brother is a _gjerning_ in Cuanheim,” Iyu replied. She scrunched her brow at Irika’s questioning look. “Umm... gjerning is… leader of a group of soldiers?”

“A general?” Irika suggested. She had a feeling a general was a bit more important, though. Ariel would have known military ranks much better.

“I think a general is more… higher,” Iyu mirrored Irika’s thoughts. “My brother Roar is in charge of one of the defense walls several miles outside of Cuanheim.”

“I actually already heard that from your father. Err, I mean the chieftain,” Irika confessed. She didn’t dare to speak impolitely of the imposing man even when he wasn’t present. “He also asked me to join the scouting party. He was very surprised when I told him I had already asked you.”

Iyu’s brow scrunched further and she grunted, clearly annoyed. “It sounds like my father wants a trial by fire for you. Either show your power and kill our enemies, or die and he will be rid of what he thinks is an untrustworthy stranger.” She took a long gulp from her flagon and slammed it onto the table hard enough to make Irika jolt. “Oh, sorry. My father is a very stubborn and old-fashioned man. He has been leading our tribe for three decades, but he is still very wary of outsiders.”

“Why? Has your tribe been hurt by outsiders before or something?” Irika asked.

“Not that I know of. We have been at peace with Stenning for centuries and our only enemies have been dragons and monsterfolk.” Iyu sighed deeply and relaxed her face. “He has his reasons, I am sure. He never tells them to anyone. It makes him a good leader but a difficult person.”

“He doesn’t let you leave the tribe then?” Irika asked.

“He has made it very clear what is expected of me,” Iyu said with a tangible hint of bitterness and went quiet.

Irika felt a bit sad for Iyu who wanted to see the world but was tied down, whereas she herself had been shunted headfirst into adventure without her ever wanting to leave Brunn. It was really unfair. “How about you just… leave? Tell him you’re going on a hunt or something and leave for good?” she suggested.

Iyu stared at her, eyes wide. She glanced around as if to make sure nobody was listening in and leaned closer to Irika. “Just leave?” she asked in a low voice.

It occurred to Irika that she was proposing that Iyu leave her people and friends behind for her own selfishness. For a vagrant like her it was hardly an issue, but Iyu had a life here. Iyu’s question was hardly angry or indignant though, but curious more than anything else. Ominous shivers ran down Irika’s spine as Iyu continued staring at her, her face way too close for comfort. “I- I mean… please forget that,” she stammered.

But Iyu ignored her. “I have never even considered that. For years and years my father has taught me: my life for the tribe. The tribe is home, the tribe is everything. But even he has had to accept that his way of thinking is a thing of the past.” She finally blinked and turned her stare at her empty mug. “But the tribe will prosper whether or not I am here. My father still has life and lead in him for many years. Many decades, even. My friends would certainly understand and I am sure none of them would be angry to see me leave.”

It was Irika’s turn to stare at Iyu. She did so in horror of what she had wrought; luring the vice-chieftain out of the town against the will of the chieftain. Ripping a tribe apart a day after being graciously accepted as a guest would certainly confirm Ragna’s suspicions towards outsiders.

“A-are you sure? It seems like you’re doing a lot of important work for your tribe,” Irika said, trying her best to control the proverbial damage.

Iyu scoffed. “Does it seem like that? I am an errand girl. I lead hunting parties. Sometimes I am introduced to an important visitor as the ‘next generation chieftain’ by my father, and then sit in silence for the rest of the meeting after they have been impressed by my size and strength.” Iyu picked up the pitcher of mead on the table, emptied it into her mug and drank most of it in one go. “There are as many good people in this village to do those things as I have fingers. I am not necessary.”

Irika’s heart twinged at Iyu’s last statement. _‘I am not necessary’_. How many times had Irika thought that about herself in the past? Even still she did, sometimes. But now she suddenly had freedom, and whether or not she was needed wasn’t much of an issue. Of course she still wanted to earn her keep wherever she went, but in the end she could technically go wherever she pleased and try to make her own life instead of trying her best to work for others. It made her heart shrivel to even imagine going back to her previous way of life; stuck in Brunn with no way out.

“Then I think you should leave,” Irika’s heart said for her. Her brain contested by trying to make her take the words back, but she shut her mouth and waited for Iyu’s reaction.

“Do you really think so?” Iyu asked. For the first time Irika actually noticed the youth in Iyu’s face, usually buried under the scowl or eclipsed by the beaming smile. Her face was lit in childlike awe at the concept of shedding her responsibilities.

“Yes, I do,” Irika recklessly replied. “I… I used to live in Brunn and we were… very poor. I was stuck there, though I didn’t know just how badly until I got out of there. I don’t know if it’s the same at all but… if you want to see other places, then I think you should have the chance to.” The alarm bells in Irika’s head quelled a bit. Apparently she was convincing herself just as much as Iyu. “Some people don’t ever get the chance no matter how much they want it or work for it,” she finished with a painful flashback to the slums of Brunn.

Iyu fell silent, staring at her mug. Irika grabbed a piece of bread from the basket on the table and munched on it, also lost in thought. She had gone on to worrying about someone else’s future plans even though her own were still a hot mess. Assuming they finished the scouting trip safely and found no clues about her mysterious guardian, where should she go next? She certainly wouldn’t survive alone further north, and asking for a longer expedition to expedite her own matters was out of the question. Maybe she should try to find Ariel. Was Ariel trying to find her?

“I think I will go,” Iyu said, flinching Irika out of her thoughts. “Once the scouting mission is over, I think I will ask Hama to report for me and leave. I have always wanted to visit my brother in Cuanheim. Maybe I will go to Stenning afterwards.” She glanced at Irika. “What will you do once we return? Do you have a plan?”

Straight to the tough question, just like her father. “I don’t. I have no idea. I don’t really even know what I’m looking for,” Irika replied. As open as the world was to her, she didn’t really know how to traverse it alone. During their trip here, Ariel had pretty much taken care of everything.

“Then, would you come with me?” Iyu asked.

 

 

_Overwork_

 

Ariel shivered as the cold headwind battered her face and uncovered arm. Spring though it was, the northern breeze descending from the mountains was still full of the bitterness of winter; it was evidently about time to pull on the winter clothes hopefully packed into their saddlebags by the servants of the Hilders manse. Gregor had already donned his overcoat before they left Renette, and Holt of the Royal Guard of Erwayn seemed to be fairly warmly clad to begin with. He had been surveying the northern border for a while after all.

Ariel signaled her two traveling companions for a small break, gently pulled on the reins of her steed and hopped off before it fully stopped. She had felt fleetingly better after Gregor’s medicine and a night’s sleep, but the ominous chill was seeping back into her bones as if carried by the wind. She impatiently rummaged around in the saddlebags for a moment and pulled out not one but two sets of overclothes, spilling much of the other contents of several bags onto the overgrown gravel road as well. She quickly separated the pieces into a two sets; one that was obviously way too small for her, and one that seemed perhaps even a little too big for her. She stuffed the former back into the bags and inspected the latter. It included a long, fur-lined riding coat, a pair of what looked like oversized boots and a pair of long gloves, all lined with fur.

She detached her shoulder cape from its fastenings, stuffed it into a saddlebag and threw the coat over herself. It was softly padded on the inside and quite obviously meant for a tall person. Its large buttons were easy to fasten even one-handed – Ariel passingly wondered someone had chosen the coat specifically because of that. She inspected the oversized boots for a moment and confirmed that they were actually covers that a soldier would put on top of a military boot. The straps were sturdy and simple; she realized they were designed so that you could fasten them while wearing gloves or gauntlets. The long fur-lined gloves themselves were indeed roomy enough to fit over gauntlets, though Ariel wasn’t wearing any. She pulled the right hand glove onto her hand with her teeth and stared at the left hand one for a moment before stuffing it back into the saddlebag.

The entire set of leather and fur was quite clearly meant for a soldier in full armor. As far as she knew, Hilders didn’t have any heavily armored soldiers at their disposal, just the light militia for patrolling and border control. Cuanmen rarely wore heavy armor as well, so the overclothes must have been made in Stenning. The craftsmanship didn’t resemble Holt’s sleek Erwayn-made cloak and covers at all though. Brunn-made, perhaps? She started picking up the various items and clothes that had fallen out of the saddlebags. She stared at a luxuriously large and fluffy towel embroidered with two intertwined lilies-of-the-valley for a long moment. Had this also donated by Lady Hilders? Or perhaps Ries back at the farmstead, where the vast majority of the clothes and tools filling up their bags had come from? The Farmstead and its gentle hospitality already seemed like a million miles away.

A lot of people had done Ariel and Irika a lot of good during their short, exhausting journey. Circumstances had forced Ariel to abandon contract and business and focus on give and take instead. Either way was fine for her in terms of work, but she had to admit that the latter made her chest feel much warmer in retrospect. She even felt slightly embarrassed at how fond she had become of Ries, Ferdinand and even their kooky servants and animals in such a short amount of time. If she had been on a contract, no bonding whatsoever would have happened, only business. That way was certainly better for focusing on the job, but rarely netted her friends.

As she mounted back up and caught up with Gregor and Holt, Ariel’s thoughts strayed even more south, to the situation in Brunn. If there really was some grand conspiracy going on like Tolmann’s notes would suggest, it might spell trouble for Ries and Ferdinand – assuming Irika’s pursuers informed Brunn of their involvement. She trusted the fellow Landsknecht Tolmann and Laincars not to divulge any more information than was absolutely necessary at any given moment, but she didn’t really know the other soldiers that had accompanied them. Hopefully Tolmann had issued a gag order to prevent any unnecessary risks. Out of all the people Ariel knew in the State, she trusted Tolmann the most.

She slightly regretted getting the hints about the goings-on in Brunn from Tolmann only after they had left the farmstead. Ries and Ferdinand might have been able to throw in some important clues or information about the developments of Brunn over the past decades. Then again, perhaps Tolmann had already interviewed them on the matter and included that information in his notes.

Not that the entire debacle unfolding down south had any sort of an impact on Ariel and her pursuit of Irika in the present anyway, she mused and physically shook the train of thought out of her head. They almost certainly wouldn’t run into any sort of Brunn-affiliated activity the further north they traveled. The Cuanese border was almost upon them already; they had made good time since leaving Renette that morning.

Ariel was slightly surprised at how well her horse was handling their pace. Holt’s gray steed was quite obviously a proud thoroughbred war horse, and Gregor’s black stallion was quite well built and definitely not a regular draft horse either. The large, slightly clumsy-looking caramel-coated and black-maned mare Ariel had unceremoniously stolen from that poor farmer near Brunn remained a bit of a mystery. She had certainly pushed it – her – very hard a couple of times, but she hadn’t really ever wondered about how remarkable it was that a working horse could take such punishment and still be fit to ride mere days afterwards. Not to even mention the two times she had just appeared out of nowhere to pull them out of hell. All in all, Ariel should be infinitely more grateful to her steed than she acted. Her track record with horses wasn’t good to begin with; maybe it was time to start actually appreciating the creatures who literally carried her burden across the lands.

“You’re a good horse,” she said and patted her gently, almost expecting to get kicked or bitten again for being an ungrateful master. But the mare merely puffed and stared at her with its big black eye. Ariel had always considered talking to animals weird and pointless in the past, but had come to even find a bit of comfort in talking to this one. The horse didn’t even have a name as far as Ariel knew. If – when – she found Irika, they would have to give her one.

“Ready to go?” Holt hollered from a bit farther ahead.

“I think we should water the horses. We’ve been riding for a while,” Ariel hollered back. She was already digging a flask and a bowl out of one of the more utility-oriented saddlebags on the horse’s other flank.

Gregor nodded appreciatively and dismounted. Holt followed suit shortly after. Ariel absent-mindedly stroked the horse’s withers as it drank and pondered the way forward. They would soon cross the Cuan border, after which the already dwindling towns would require some careful planning to reach.

The information she had garnered from the guard called Grint regarding the gryphon’s path was fairly consistent until the point where the beast crossed the border. After that there had only been one sighting by a group of hunters from a tribe whose name Ariel had already forgotten in her rush to leave. She didn’t have a map to follow, but the path was well set in her mind. The biggest issue would be having to ford a river some miles after they crossed the border. She was already feeling under the weather as it was, and getting drenched – again – certainly wouldn’t help. But in the absence of a better crossing point, it was inevitable. The border station would likely know the best fording spot, as Grint’s report hadn’t specified anything further than the fact that most rivers were flooding.

“All watered up,” Holt said, having walked his steed over. He was eyeing Ariel’s horse, its lack of a military-issue saddle and harness and the way she was petting it. “Not your assigned steed, I assume?” he asked.

“No. This one is a workhorse from Brunn,” she replied, deciding to leave the theft out of her answer. “I’ve never had an assigned steed. Or well… never,” she said. She didn’t want to talk about her past with horses.

Holt raised an eyebrow. “Do Landsknecht not get their own personal mount?” he asked.

“They do. All State knights do once they reach the rank of captain,” Ariel said and stared at Holt, mentally transmitting her unwillingness to continue the discussion any further.

Holt seemingly got the message as he nodded and turned to mount up. Gregor glanced at Ariel curiously, but she gave him the same defiant stare.

They continued riding for a few more hours, accompanied by bouts of meaningless smalltalk and a few unsuccessful attempts from Holt to pry into Ariel’s training in the Mercenary State. She really didn’t feel like talking about herself right now as her physical condition once again worsened by the hour. She was glad Holt was there though, as his judgment on pacing a long ride was infinitely better than Ariel’s. Despite their reasonable pace, they had passed the border before she realized it and stood on the bank of a river that looked more like the shore of a very long lake.

“The border guard said the bridge is still there… sort of,” Holt said and followed the increasingly more submerged road with his finger to the center of the river. A long bump in the gentle current was visible in the middle, indicating the water was hitting some sort of an obstacle. “They said we shouldn’t have to dip any deeper than waist-depth as long as we don’t miss the bridge.”

Ariel’s stomach churned at the concept of having to dive into the freezing water as she pulled off her boot covers. The most important thing would be to get dry and warm as fast as possible once they were across. The trio spent a while pulling off their boots, greaves and pants and propping them onto the horses however they could. Gregor was done with his light leathers first. Ariel finished cramming her armor and leggings into a burlap sack and balancing it on top of the saddle. She and Gregor were both shivering in their undergarments, watching Holt shedding his armor. His steel thigh guards were apparently integrated into the tassets hanging from the chestplate, which meant he had to take his entire armor off.

“It’s a hassle to take off and put on, but covers up a lot of weak spots like the groin and the sides,” he explained to Gregor who was eyeing the complicated piece of armor curiously. Even Ariel with her custom-made armor and sword had to appreciate the craftsmanship that had gone to Holt’s plate. It wasn’t as meticulous as the mechanisms on Ariel’s own armor, but a lot of work must have gone to making such a complicated singular piece of steel.

Finally they all stood at the ready beside their horses, looked at each other grimly and stepped into the water. The icy cold sent a shock up Ariel’s spine and made her teeth ache.

“By Bun’s teats that’s cold,” Gregor said with a shaky laugh. “I wasn’t planning to take the first dip of the year just yet. And definitely not this far north.”

Ariel didn’t even feel like quipping back. She was focusing on moving forward into the gradually deepening river. The other bank was a good two hundred feet away and they would have to spend a considerable amount of it soaked up to their waists in the freezing water. Ariel was slightly better off being taller than the two men, but it was a very cold comfort indeed as she felt her toes growing number by the second.

All of the horses were taking the water in stride, which served to surprise Ariel even further. The one she was walking didn’t seem to mind one bit. It puffed gently next to her and walked forward, clearly understanding that their destination was the other side. The river Ariel had crossed with Irika before their final rush to Brunn did also frequently flood during springtime, so maybe the horse was used to fording overflowing streams.

It took the trio what seemed like an eternity to wade through the entire river. The current wasn’t particularly rapid but it still kept trying to push them off the road and into the shallow ditch running next to it. Gregor, who was walking in the middle, kept bumping into his horse, who in turn bumped into Ariel who walked on the downstream side. For the middle part of the river Ariel was veritably sandwiched between Gregor’s horse and her own. It made the fording process even slower and more painful for her numb legs.

Thankfully Grint’s information had been accurate; Holt and Gregor had managed to wade through never dipping below their waists, while Ariel fared even better thanks to her long legs. As soon as they were out of the water, they started pulling towels and rags out of their saddlebags. Ariel dug up the sparkling clean embroidered towel and unceremoniously wiped herself and the horse’s legs with it, then hung it from the saddle straps for a makeshift screen. She swiftly changed her underwear, pulled on her pants, leathers, plates and finally the soft coat and boot covers. Gregor was already done with his changing as well and was squeezing water out of his undergarments.

“Should we light a fire and rest for a moment or press on? The next town is still hours away,” Holt asked, warming his feet with his hands and glaring at his cold, metallic boots.

“I vote for moving on and getting to a town before nightfall. Midnight is still good to ride,” Gregor said and patted his horse.

It took a while for Ariel to process Gregor’s nonsensical statement and realize that Midnight was the name of his horse. She glanced at her own steed. “I think we’re fine to ride too. We should keep going,” she said, searched the saddlebags for an extra pair of long socks and threw them to Holt.

“Thanks,” Holt said, surprised at the gesture and pulled the socks over his chausses. “Help me armor up and we’ll go.”

 

* * *

 

By the time the sun was edging on the horizon, they had reached a town, rested for some hours and then found out that the gryphon had passed right over it about two days ago. Under Ariel’s insistence, they were already well on their way towards the next village below the beast’s path of flight. She had a feeling Holt had only acquiesced because of his rude behavior back in Renette; the night was getting colder by the minute and he didn’t seem to be enjoy the chill one bit. The thought of pulling another cold, late-night ride didn’t really sit well with Ariel either, but she couldn’t quell the imp in her brain reminding her of all of the time she had lost already.

With their pace and the condition of their mounts, they should still arrive just fine before it was pitch dark. Ariel’s own condition, however, wasn’t fine. She was starting to greatly regret her executive decision to keep going, as beads of sweat poured down her face almost nonstop and she had to squint to keep her vision clear. The gradually steepening mountainside meant they had to slow down to avoid pushing their steeds past their limits, and Ariel was rapidly nearing her own.

“Ariel? Are you alright?” Gregor asked, riding close enough to shake her shoulder. “You’re dozing off!”

“I’m alright. Let’s keep going,” Ariel said, but her words came out slightly muddled despite her best efforts. The simple meat and potato stew she had eaten in the previous town squeezed in her stomach mutinously.

“It doesn’t sound like you’re alright. Are you ill?” Holt said from behind Gregor.

“Nothing I can’t handle. And nothing we can do about it right now, regardless,” Ariel said, slapped her own cheek lightly and took a swig from the water flask hanging on her hip.

“We could turn back. The last town is still closer than…” Gregor began, but Ariel interjected him.

“No. We keep going. I’m already days behind Irika and I’m not losing any more time,” she barked.

Holt and Gregor looked at each other. Ariel knew they both disagreed with her, but she could also tell that neither of them had the gall to override her decision. She didn’t feel good pushing them around for her own selfish quest, she didn’t feel good pushing the horses after they had already carried the trio for most of the day, and she just plain didn’t feel good. She would deal with the guilt later like she always did.

They rode around and deeper into the steepening, wooded mountains for another hour and a half, but came across no towns or villages, or even singular houses or cottages. No lamplights or other signs of civilization peeked through the dark woods, no signposts or toll booths had lined the roads to point them in the right direction. They were truly and well in Cuan. The dwindling amount of other travelers on the road had dropped to zero past the previous town as well, depriving them of any human guidance.

“We should set up camp, can barely see ahead anymore,” Holt said. “We passed a decent-looking hollow under the cliff on the edge of the clearing,” he added.

Ariel gritted her teeth. They had managed to ride that far into the deepening darkness by the grace of the snow lining the edges of the road, making it possible to actually see where they were going. Now, the snow had deepened just enough to completely erase the contrast even in the dim light of their oil lamps, making further exploration in the darkness senseless.

“What’s that over there?” Gregor asked. Ariel couldn’t see where he was pointing, so she first scanned the treeline and then the darkness of the large clearing they were skirting. A dim orange dot of light was bobbing somewhere along the snowy plain, occasionally disappearing between higher piles of snow.

“OI!” Ariel shouted across the plain. Both Holt and Gregor hissed her violently.

“What. Are. You. Doing?!” Holt snapped. “Could be orcs!”

“When’s the last time you’ve seen just one orc?” Ariel snapped back. The light had stopped at her call and was now gradually getting larger and brighter. “It’s human,” she added, not at all sure that it really was.

The light stopped several dozen feet away from them, out in the field. “ _Venne_ _ast?”_ issued a call from it.

“Cuanese,” Ariel and Holt said in unison. _“Tjengere, haj!”_ Holt called back. “We’re looking for a village!” He continued.

The light continued advancing towards them. “What village? What is your business?” the Cuanman holding the lamp asked with a heavy accent, stopping again some thirty feet away from them. Ariel could see a very large silhouette of a man behind the lamp.

“We’re chasing after a gryphon. We got directions to here from… err...” Ariel began, but couldn’t remember the name of the town they had passed through hours ago. Her brain was screaming for her to be alert and ready in the presence of an unknown stranger, but just thinking and speaking took way too much effort.

“From Artil,” Gregor said. “A man called Huri gave us the directions to a village somewhere around here,” he added. Ariel was hazily glad that Gregor had an attentive head on his shoulders.

“Huri, you say?” the Cuanese man said and finally walked over to meet the trio. “I know Huri. I trust Huri. Can I trust you?” he asked and lifted his lamp between Holt and Gregor’s horses. He was about as tall and wide as Holt’s horse and had a very bearded face. “You are a knight,” he said to Holt before any of them could answer. “I will trust you. Come,” he continued.

Ariel shut her mouth which she had opened to say something that she already forgot. Thinking was starting to become _very_ hard and her horse seemed to be increasingly unstable under her.

“You will not need to ride farther to find the village,” the man said and brought them over to a vast, hill-like mound of snow. Now that Ariel was closer, she noticed that there was a large stone frame over a gently sloping paved walkway leading down _into the_ _gr_ _ound_. She was sure her exhaustion and illness was starting to make her delusional. The large man hung the lamp onto a hook at the entrance and pointed downward. “Bring your horses down here. We will give them food and rest. Welcome to Drettil.”


	21. The Hunter and the Harbinger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hnutering is a hard job! Don't go hunterning if you don't know what you're doing! Especially hrunting for dragons!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> V A C A T I O N  
> Summer holidays just hit my blessed life and I decided to pamper all you based based people who have faithfully followed the story so far with a TRIPLE FEATURE! Three chapters! A double Irika chapter, a double Ariel chapter, and then a rather significant regular PoV swap chapter!
> 
> I'll have to upload the latter two tomorrow or the day after, though, since I'm hella sleepy from having just written for about 16 hours straight. So enjoy this little cliffhanger until then!

 

_The Basics of Hunting_

  

Irika had barely opened her eyes and pulled on her furs before she was standing ankle-deep in snow with a rucksack full of food and survival equipment on her back. At some point she had probably eaten breakfast since she felt full, and evidently at some point she had acquiesced to a _very_ early awakening, since she was standing there instead of being asleep. The orange glow of the spring sun was just barely starting to emerge from beyond the mountains as six large Cuanese hunters and Irika were standing at the edge of the forest next to the underground village of Drettil. Iyu and Hama were chatting with each other in Irika’s own language – presumably for her benefit – but Irika was not taking in any of it. It really was way too early for this sort of thing.

“Ready to go?” Iyu asked Irika directly, forcing her to snap out of trying to fall back to sleep while standing.

“I’m not sure,” Irika replied and yawned so widely her jaw popped.

Iyu laughed and patted Irika on the head, making Irika passingly wonder what it would be like to have friends her own height. “We begin hunts early so that no matter what happens, we will make it back before nightfall. You will be fine once we get going.” She returned to the front of a pack of six wolf-like dogs that were attached to a sled carrying about twenty times the amount of equipment that Irika had in her backpack.

Each one of the hounds was about twice as big as and much more mean-looking than the friendly and happy dog at Ries’ farmstead. Irika could probably have ridden one of them. She hadn’t even known there were such animals in Drettil before the hunters had brought them out of one of the underground stables. Irika’s usual curiosity towards animals was overridden by the mad desire to flee as she peered at the dogs from afar.

“They’re very well trained, you can go and pet them if you want! They like having their ears scratched,” Hama said from behind Irika, making her jump. She was carrying a very large bow on her back, hung around a quiver that contained arrows the length of Irika’s entire arm. It seemed that everything in Cuan was almost unreasonably big.

“I, uh. I’ll pass,” Irika said, despite the small desire to pet one of the giant dogs rearing its head in her mind. “Are you expecting to run into any d-dragons out there?” she asked Hama, eyeing her greatbow with a shiver of anticipation. Irika’s encounters with dragons had not been pleasant ones so far, and she was starting to second guess her decision to tag along as various images of being eaten alive flitted through her imagination.

“Hmm, that remains to be seen,” Hama replied earnestly. “Our purpose is to scout, not to fight. The weapons are a necessary precaution more so than an offensive against them.”

Irika nervously fiddled with the sheath of the marblesque shortsword on her hip. Despite having slayed several dozen goblins and – apparently – several dozen fierce orcs and a gigantic dragon, she still felt like she didn’t have any actual combat experience. She couldn’t help but feel that her unnatural luck and the divine interventions would inevitably run out at some point. Her heart jumped as she thought she felt the sword vibrate just the slightest amount. Was it responding to her magic? Or was there still hope that the mysterious being truly was watching over her? Maybe it was just her imagination.

“Ready to move out!” Iyu yelled from a few dozen yards out. All of the hunters, each sporting a massive weapon of some sort, acknowledged her with a resounding “HU!” Despite there only being six hunters, the shout made Irika shiver some more. It really did feel like they were preparing for a battle, despite what Hama had said. Seems like Cuanese people took their operations at least as seriously as Landsknecht did.

After a few hours of traveling, the slowly ascending woods gave way to rocky crags, ice floes and all around deeper snow. There was a rough but distinct path through the woods and along the mountainside that was fairly easy to follow, at least compared to the thigh-depth snow surrounding it and the perilous cliffs hidden underneath. The pack of sled dogs were constantly trying to rush forward with their boundless energy, but Iyu stopped them dead with a short whistle every time. Irika was very impressed at how well the dogs had been trained.

“They’re cross breeds of common sled dogs and wild wolves. Most pups will turn out easier to tame than wolves but much bigger and stronger than dogs,” Hama explained. “The only downside is that they tend to require constant action or they will be bored to death.”

Irika chuckled until she saw Hama’s face and realized she wasn’t joking about the last part. “They really die?” she asked.

Hama smiled at her. “It’s fine in the edge tribes. We go hunting almost every day so they never get bored. The larger cities in Cuan use regular sled dogs as they aren’t as needy.”

Irika stared at a few of the dogs in the pack who were whimpering slightly and constantly trying to dash ahead. “How big are wild wolves then if these… cross breeds…? Are so big?” she asked.

“Actually, the hybrids tend to be a fair bit larger than either of their parents,” Hama replied and scratched her head. “Even Obelea with their eternal thirst for science and knowledge has been interested in studying the reason why. But these fellas don’t take too well to sitting around and being test subjects,” she said and grinned. “The scientists that visited our tribe some years ago gave up pretty fast.”

“I can imagine,” Irika mused. If she had been holding the pack’s reins instead of Iyu, they’d just drag her away into the horizon without a care. Iyu’s sharp whistle consistently kept the dogs in line. Irika couldn’t even whistle at all.

Irika’s leg muscles were starting to burn and her breathing was becoming more and more visible in the cool air as the mountain path rose above the treeline of the fir forest covering the foot of the mountain. The path kept twisting under crags that seemed likely to collapse at any moment, and cliffsides that felt like a sneeze would make them crumble from under their feet. Yet all six Cuanmen were still chatting animatedly and seemingly having a great time as if they were on a regular old sightseeing hike. The sled dogs had finally conceded to Iyu’s reasonable pace and were walking in front of her in a neat formation, no longer trying to dash on.

“We’re about halfway to the first roost, how are you faring?” Hama asked Irika.

“Faring fine,” Irika replied and took a gulp from her waterskin. “I have to admit though, this is definitely tougher than walking through woods or muddy backstreets.” The snowy path was entirely uncared for, but bore marks of regular patrolling. Irika was trying to walk in the Cuanmen’s deep footsteps, but every now and then had to take a step in the shin-depth snow.

“Be glad we’re taking this route and not one of the bad ones,” Hama said. “This path will take us to a valley between four mountains called the Four Mountain Valley. We are a very imaginative people, I know,” she said, chuckling at Irika’s raised eyebrow. “One of the Great White’s old roosts is a few miles away from the far edge of the valley. We will most probably take a break before then.”

Irika nodded and peered at the path ahead of them. It was curving along the side of the mountain, making it hard to see what was ahead. She glanced behind her, trying to find the village of Drettil amongst the glaciers and forests stretching down the mountain slope. Even if the town weren’t buried underground, she doubted she’d be able to find it anymore.

Sun had finally broken across the horizon and was warming Irika’s back slightly even at these high altitudes. It seemed like soon enough they’d be hiking into the mountain’s shadow soon enough, though, which made Irika glad that she was warmly clad in thick furs. The tip of her nose and her cheeks were already slightly numb from the cold. The curving, ascending path dived directly into the mountains and finally evened out into a long, sheer-walled gorge. After a short while of Irika constantly worrying about an avalanche burying them all alive, they emerged into a vast, roundish valley with two very defined conical mountaintops forming an almost perfect square with the two on either side of them. The valley seemed to be flat on the bottom and completely covered in a thick forest, with a curiously low amount of snow in the entire surrounding area.

“Oooooh,” Irika breathed, staring at the valley and wanting to imprint the delightfully symmetrical scenery into her memory forever.

“ _Fybengsplanna,_ Four Mountains Valley,” Hama said. She pointed at a spot near the middle of the forest. “See that?”

Irika squinted toward the center of the valley. A thin sort of mist seemed to be issuing from the ground there. “What is that?” she asked.

“It’s a large hot spring, and the place where we will take our rest. A very pleasant spot, we sometimes come all the way here just to relax in the springs,” Hama explained. She pointed to the distinct lack of snow surrounding the edges of the forest. “This entire valley is much warmer than any of the surrounding areas. Some scientists think the big bowl might actually be the top of a very old volcano,” she continued.

“What’s a volcano?” Irika asked. She felt like she’d heard or seen the word in some fairy tale or another but couldn’t place it.

Hama blinked at her and scratched her head. “Um. Normally you think of a mountain that spits out fire and stone from deep within the earth. But some volcanoes are just passive and mostly send up smoke or vapor and keep their surroundings warm all year long, like this one. If this one is one.”

“A mountain that spits out fire and stone,” Irika repeated. “That doesn’t sound safe at all!”

Hama laughed. “Like I said, this one is very old and doesn’t do that anymore. But it still keeps the valley warm. There are some plants and animals here that don’t exist anywhere else in Cuan.”

Irika still felt like a being on a mountain that could turn into fire at any moment was a really bad idea, especially with such a dense forest covering it. But if seasoned hunters and all-around smart people like Hama and Iyu thought it was fine, it probably was. And if it spit out fire and stone on a regular basis, there probably wouldn’t even be a forest on it.

Traveling down into the valley made Irika realize just how much warmer it was in here. Back in the gorge her face and ears had started to sting slightly from the cold, but now they felt like they were burning from the rapid change in temperature. Many of the Cuanmen were taking off their fur coats and piling them onto the dog-pulled sled. Iyu had already shed most of her overclothes.

“Wow,” Irika said quietly, staring at Iyu’s arms. They were about twice as thick as Irika’s and might even have been more muscular than Ariel’s.

“I know what you mean,” Hama sighed from next to Irika, glanced at her, quickly turned away and cleared her throat.

Irika stared at Hama with all sorts of questions bursting forth from her mind, but was interrupted by Iyu before she could ask any of them.

“We will be at the Four Mountains spring soon. We will eat and have a good time for a moment, and then continue onward. The weather favors us, the trails favor us and no doubt the Gods favor us too!” Iyu yelled at the group, turned back around towards their destination and raised her fist in the air. All five other Cuanmen raised their fists too and gave another hearty “HU!”

Such a simple gesture and shout, yet it made Irika swell up with some kind of a weird, giddy strength too. She’d definitely try to join in the next time they did it.

The valley hot spring was a large, almost perfectly round lake almost perfectly in the middle of the four mountaintops. The path they had followed opened up into a small area with multiple trees cut into stumps which the Cuanmen swiftly sat on, pulling off their winter boots and fur pants. Irika followed suit and was extremely relieved to get out of the winter pants that had gotten positively stifling the closer to the spring they had come.

Irika noticed Hama’s eyes flitting towards Iyu again. Or rather, Irika was suddenly acutely aware that Hama was constantly stealing glances at the young vice-chieftain. Iyu was already wading shin-deep into the spring, clad only in a leathery pair of underpants and a simple chest wrapping. Her entire body was just as toned as her arms. For the life of her, Irika couldn’t blame Hama for staring. “So, umm...” she began, wondering how to place the most pressing question in her mind without being too intrusive.

“What? What?” Hama said, snapping her eyes to Irika’s.

“Do you think she’s… I mean, do you think Iyu is… Umm,” Irika said, unable to finish the question. Her cheeks were starting to burn from the mere insinuation.

Hama rubbed the back of her head and sighed, a subtle red tint creeping up on her cheeks as well “Yes. I think she’s very attractive. I don’t think there’s a single man or woman in our tribe who doesn’t.”

“Y-you mean, everyone in your tribe is in love with…?” Irika asked. She’d had no idea Cuanese people were so free-spirited.

Hama visibly flinched at Irika’s statement. “In _love with…_? Nonono, no!” she said just slightly too loud, clapped a hand to her mouth and glanced around. None of the other Cuanmen seemed to have noticed anything out of the ordinary. “I mean, no. Not everyone is _in love with her._ We tend to appreciate physical strength and she’s… A very good example of it.”

Irika looked around at the other Cuanmen chatting with each other. She looked back to Hama, who now seemed to be avoiding Irika’s eyes. The devilish words escaped Irika’s lips before she could stop them. “But _you_ seem to be the only one constantly staring at her.”

Hama glanced at Irika, closed her eyes and turned very red. She sighed deeply. “Yeah. I can’t deny that.” She thrust her large palm towards Irika’s face, making her recoil a little. “But that doesn’t mean anything! I-I’m already involved with someone anyway, Iyu is just- It’s just… admiration! She’s over ten years younger than I am, too! Please don’t tell Tarun, please.” she jabbered, once again forgetting to curb her volume.

Irika felt a mad desire to laugh at Hama’s over the top reaction, but a cavalcade of more questions bubbled out. “Are you attracted to women? Are you involved with one? Is it Tarun? How do other people feel about it? Do they ever think it’s disgusting?” The questions burst out of her mouth like a drunken babble before she could consider any of them. The prospect of having found someone else who was attracted to another woman was too overbearing.

Hama stared at Irika for a while. “You’re not making fun of me, right? You’re genuinely curious, aren’t you?” she asked.

Irika opened her mouth but finally caught herself before something else that was incredibly rude and personal escaped out of it. She closed her mouth and settled for a nod, trying to look apologetic.

Hama took a stabilizing breath. “Yes, I am attracted to women. I don’t go around telling everyone about it, but it’s not really a secret. A few people in our tribe know and they don’t think it’s disgusting, Cuanese people are generally rather accepting of things that don’t harm anyone.” She glanced at a few of the other hunters, who were still minding their own business, or at least pretending not to have heard Hama’s previous outburst. “It’s still very nerve-wracking to think ‘what if they don’t accept it?’ when telling people, though. I have not told my parents. I’m an only child and I’m afraid I’ll break their hearts if I tell them they will probably never have grandchildren.”

Irika's stomach dropped as she finally realized just how deeply personal her questioning had been. “I’m sorry, I-” she began, but Hama cut her off.

“It’s fine! You already figured most of it out, anyway. I am in a relationship with Tarun. We are extremely happy together. So much so that I still can’t believe that she actually returned my feelings, sometimes,” Hama said and smiled at Irika. “There are good things and there are bad things about it, just like any other relationship. The funny thing is, the both of us are physically attracted to Iyu. We haven’t talked about it with each other, but I’m sure we both already know this. And what’s even funnier, Iyu is definitely very much into men. I even know what type of man she fancies,” Hama said and let out a surprisingly girlish giggle.

Irika stared at her with her mouth open again. Hama was so confident in herself despite being... ‘ _not normal’_. That was how Irika had come to think of her own attraction to Ariel, anyway. She hadn’t really ever come across the concept of someone loving someone of their own gender before. It was always husband and wife, or king and queen, or hero and damsel. The ‘normal’ state of things. Abnormalities like magic were severely hated and persecuted, in Brunn at least. And what Irika had heard of, magic specifically wasn’t exactly liked in most other places either. Wouldn’t it be the same thing about people who were ‘ _not normal’_ in other ways as well?

Hama seemed to pick up on Irika’s train of thought. “What about you? Are _you_ in love with someone… that you think you shouldn’t be in love with?” she asked, with much more tact than Irika had.

Irika closed her mouth again and nodded again. Hama had been honest with her, so it was only fair that she was honest with Hama. “Yeah. I think so. I was traveling with someone… a woman. At first I was grateful that she saved my life, and I really admired her strength, but then I… I started looking at her more. I’ve never looked at anyone like that. It felt wrong, or like I was doing something wrong. But we kept traveling together and she didn’t hate traveling with me. All things considered, she might even like me back on some level. I’m still not completely sure whether it’s just pity or some kind of sisterly sort of like or something else. She jokes around a lot too, and I like that, but… It kind of hurts to think about. What if it’s a different kind of like? I still want to see her again, more than anything else. I still want to keep traveling with her. But what if she doesn’t like me the way I like her? How long can I keep walking by her side and just… enduring it?”

The floodgates of all of Irika’s doubt regarding her weird relationship with Ariel burst open. Irika’s eyes welled up as she went on. Her heart ached grievously from how much she wanted to see Ariel again. Regardless of the mysterious being whisking her away to the north on a gryphon and regardless of whatever grand mission it had for her, Irika could finally admit to herself that she was escaping. She was actively trying to come up with more excuses to avoid returning to Ariel’s side. She was hiking deep into the mountains to hide. To make Ariel lose track of her and to lose track of Ariel. To sever the perverse string of fate that had brought them together and made Irika fall in love with her.

But what if it _could_ all work out in the end? Several people along their journey had joined in on the joke of Ariel and Irika being something more than friends just traveling together, and right now Irika was staring at a woman who was happy with another woman and not persecuted for it. And even if it did turn out that Ariel didn’t think of Irika the same way she thought of her, life would go on. As painful as it was to think about, some day they would probably find other people to love. That’s how all the stories ended, anyway.

Hama squeezed down next to Irika on her tree stump and put her arm around her shoulders. “You’ve been struggling with this for a while, haven’t you?” she said, dug a linen handkerchief out of her pocket and handed it over to Irika.

Irika nodded and blew her nose on the linen. “Yeah. I-it’s good to know that whatever happens, I can probably find a place where I’m not hated. Really good.”

Hama chuckled gently and laid her hand on top of Irika’s head. “There are so many people and so many places in the world. So many. There are always going to be those who get up in your business and don’t like anything you do. But there are also those who will accept you, all of you. Haven’t you already found some people like that over in our little Drettil, despite your short stay?” she said, beaming at her.

Irika considered the several places she could probably return to and be accepted. Honestly, she had not appreciated those places nearly as much as she should have. It was almost unthinkable that a dirty vagrant sorcerer from the slums of Brunn could be treated with so much acceptance, love, respect and even admiration with barely anything to show for it. And Ariel had been there with her the entire way as the key to opening all of those doors.

A short but very loud, low shriek followed by a giant splashing of water interrupted Irika’s reminiscing. Hama was already on her feet and rushing toward where she had set down her overclothes and weapons. All of the Cuanese hunters were running towards the edge of the water, towards the large white dragon that had crashed onto the shore out of nowhere. “ _BAK_!” Iyu shouted, desperately struggling her way out of the water and away from the dragon behind her. The hunters furthest away from her whirled around and two of them rolled away just in time to avoid the claws of a second dragon swooping out from behind the treetops.

The white wyvern standing in the water behind Iyu lifted its head and drew a long, rasping breath. Hama nocked a giant arrow in her greatbow and fired it so fast Irika could barely register she’d done anything. The arrow glanced the dragon’s throat, making it flinch and spew a stream of rainbow-hued ice just left of Iyu, instantly freezing the water on the surface of the hot spring in a burst of snow and mist. Iyu dived into the mist as two of the hunters touting a giant axe and a pair of swords approached the dragon from either side. The other dragon was occupied by the other two hunters who were deftly rolling out of the way of its claws and fangs.

Irika was all but paralyzed, standing next to her tree stump. The two dragons were nowhere near as large as the one that had chased her on the gryphon, but were much larger than the one that had chased her in the forest of Alaum. Much, much too large for her to even think about fighting.

“IRIKA! BEHIND YOU!” came Hama’s voice from the treeline. Irika spun around to find a third dragon’s massive face and knife-sized teeth a few yards from her. It opened its mouth into a snarl and showed all of its fangs to Irika. Her shortsword pulsed gently on her left side, but Irika’s arms did nothing. Her mind was blank and she was going to die.

In her dying moments, Irika hallucinated the rapid hoofsteps of a horse somewhere nearby. A brownish sort of blur flickered in her peripheral vision, followed by a maniacal yell and a flash of dark red and pearly white. The pulsing and humming of the sword on her hip peaked as another, larger version of its likeness cut across the dragon’s neck like shearing paper.

“We have got to stop meeting like this,” Ariel wheezed, lost her grip on her greatsword and fell onto the ground next to the decapitated dragon.

 

 

_Destiny_

 

Irika’s body moved on instinct. Every muscle in her body still remembered what had happened in Alaum, and her entire being was screaming to prevent it from happening. She drew her shortsword, focused her magic into it and pointed it at the white dragon’s severed neck, where the icy blue stream of blood was starting to create jagged crystals of ice radiating a deathly chill around them. Her entire field of vision briefly flashed a warm gold color as a bolt of pale, multi-hued lightning left the sword and hit the crystals, vaporizing them into thin air. The electricity crackled around the dragon’s neck for a moment, giving Irika time to rush to Ariel’s side.

“Ariel? ARIEL! Wake up!” she yelled, pulling the unresponsive knight into a sitting position and failing to pick her up. “HELP!” she screamed, looking around wildly at the Cuanmen fighting their respective dragons.

Hama appeared on the opposite side of Ariel, grabbed her arm and pulled her onto her shoulders with a loud grunt. “Over here!” she said to Irika and started jogging towards the treeline. Irika was momentarily flabbergasted at how easily Hama had moved Ariel, but shook herself out of it and followed her.

The electricity crackling around the dragon’s severed neck was waning and soon enough more blue blood was starting to spill out of its massive body, spreading a field of ice under it.

“Check if she’s still alive and if she needs revivification. I must help the others,” Hama said, sat Ariel down against a tree trunk with another grunt, picked up her bow and rejoined the fray with the other two dragons.

Irika had no idea what revivification meant, but she put her cheek up against Ariel’s mouth like she had seen being done to unconscious people. She felt Ariel’s warm but slightly weak breath on her skin and shivered violently. _“Alive_ ,” she thought with a pang of relief. Ariel had appeared out of nowhere and collapsed out of nowhere. What was wrong with her?

A male scream of pain sounded from the direction of the other dragons. One of the hunters had received a large claw wound on his back from a _fourth_ white dragon that had joined the battle. The hunters were being overwhelmed no matter how many huge arrows Hama let fly. Iyu had also joined the fight, fending one of the dragons off by herself with a giant lance-like weapon.

“I need to go but I’ll be back,” Irika said to the unconscious Ariel. She ran back towards the dead dragon and picked up her sword from where she had dropped it. A quick glint of gold flashed in her peripheral vision, making her turn towards the dragon's grotesque, severed head. Ariel's greatsword was about to be engulfed by the expanding ice, once again radiating horrifying coldness into its surroundings. She quickly sheathed her own blade, dragged the greatsword a dozen yards away from the spreading ice and glanced back at Ariel, deeming her far away and safe enough from the dragon’s cursed blood. She unsheathed her sword and ran towards the dragon Iyu was fighting.

She was no longer operating on pure instinct, but felt like she knew what to do. She held her sword with both of her hands and concentrated her magic onto it. There sword thrummed in her hand weakly or strongly depending on how she channeled her magic. She closed her eyes and scrunched her brow in concentration, trying to find the feeling she had had when the being within her had helped her vanquish the Great White. After a few moments of concentration, the sword vibrated visibly and crackled with the same kind of multi-hued electricity she had shot at the dead dragon’s blood earlier. She focused with all of her might and pushed as much magic into the sword as she could, and then let out the breath she’d been holding for what felt like hours with a loud scream.

A bolt of lightning at least a hundred times more powerful and incandescent than just before left the tip of the sword, arced around Iyu’s form and struck the white dragon’s back. The dragon let out an ear-rending roar, making Iyu stumble backwards away from it. Irika’s palms burned as she concentrated on stopping the flow of magic before it drained her dry. The sword’s tip shot upwards with enough force to topple Irika over, as a final, deafening pulse of electricity left the tip of the sword, struck the dragons flailing head and blasted it off its feet and sent it tumbling into the hot spring.

Irika quickly picked herself up from the ground and turned to the other two dragons. Iyu was already rushing to help the injured hunter get into safety as three of the hunters were bobbing and weaving past each other to keep the other two dragons busy and distracted. Irika pointed her sword at one of the dragons and concentrated again. This time it was much, much harder as her head swam with the magical and physical effort; her ears ringed and her palms burned as if she were gripping hot coals. She managed to find that sweet spot of channeling much faster, but pushing magic into the sword caused her to grit her teeth in pain. Still, she pushed and pushed until the sword vibrated violently, screamed and let the magic go.

Another, marginally less blinding flash of lightning left the sword and hit one of the dragons dead between the eyes. It convulsed on its legs for a short moment and dropped onto the ground, dead.

All of the hunters crowded the last dragon that roared, snapped and clawed at them in turn. Hama’s arrows punched holes into its webbed wings over and over again. The dragon leaped back, stood up on its hind legs and buffeted the hunters with a powerful beat of its mighty wings. The hunters braced themselves and kept their footing, but the dragon was already taking off. It hovered in the air above the hunters’ reach weakly as the last of Hama’s arrows bounced off its thick scales. It turned its eyes directly onto Irika.

“ _YOU…_ _WILL… BE…”_

The words resonated inside Irika’s head so loudly that she dropped her sword and clutched her head in pain. As suddenly as they had come, they were gone, and the fourth white dragon was retreating over the edge of the valley.

Two of the hunters lifted their weapons and roared victory after the dragon. The rest huddled up around the injured one, talking in rapid Cuanese. Iyu jogged to Irika. “Are you alright?” she asked very loudly.

“Yeah, but my... my friend...” Irika panted, feeling completely drained.

“What? I can’t hear very well after that _drago… Fitje!”_ she yelled and spat towards the corpse of the decapitated one lying in a puddle of ice, increasingly shrouded in mist.

Irika fell sitting onto the ground. “I’M FINE!” she screamed with what felt like the last of her strength and pointed towards Ariel, still slumped up against a tree at the edge of the forest. “Help her instead,” she finished weakly, knowing that Iyu probably wouldn’t hear her.

Irika glanced around wearily. The injured hunter was conscious and spewing out some very violent words that Irika could guess were curses at the dragons. Hama was dabbing a giant slash wound on his back with some kind of ointment, while another hunter was preparing a bandage. One of the hunters was keeping an eye on the two dragon corpses that hadn’t lost their heads, and another one was running towards the pack of dogs, still attached to the sled, watching the scene from several hundred yards along the shoreline. Iyu was checking on Ariel.

What the _blazing_ _hell_ just happened?

 

* * *

 

Irika had somehow, miraculously, remained conscious for the entire trip back to Drettil, and now sat in a haze on a stool next to a bed. A proper, wide, legged bed – she for some reason acknowledged – instead of just a frame in the ground. In the bed lie Ariel, whose condition, according to the shaman of the tribe, was ‘stable’. The shaman had put some kind of salve into Ariel’s mouth and left a bucketful of melted snow next to the bed and a wet linen cloth onto Ariel’s forehead, and instructed Irika to dip the cloth into the bucket whenever it got warm. Irika still had no idea what Ariel’s condition even was, but she was glad she was going to be alright. Evidently glad enough to cry, as silent tears kept slowly rolling down her cheeks. She didn’t have enough strength in her to stop them. Her relief at everything was immeasurable.

A young man with straw-hued hair had stopped by in the room and said something about Ariel and him arriving in town last night, but Irika hadn’t taken in much of it. She just wanted to sit there by Ariel’s side for now, safe and warm. Explanations and stories could wait until later. Several other people came by too, including Iyu and Hama, asking whether Irika was okay and other platitudes. She managed to give all of them a weak reply and was glad they sensed her desire to just be alone with Ariel for now.

Irika’s mind was all but numb from the avalanche of thoughts and questions within. Where had Ariel come from? How had she found her? What exactly ailed her? Why had they been attacked by not just one dragon but _four_ ? They hadn’t even reached the Great White’s roost yet! Who the hell had screamed in her head and what had they meant with those words? ‘ _You will be…’_ what?!

Irika clutched her head as red hot anger pushed through. Again and again she found herself in situations in which she felt like she had no business being. This time it had come at the cost of several injuries and the glaring possibility of everyone dying. This time though, she could find no fault in her own actions. Despite having frozen up by shock in the initial attack, she had killed two of the dragons single-handedly and by her own power. Mostly, anyway. Why else would she feel so absolutely and completely drained? If any mystical being within or without her had aided her, surely she wouldn’t feel like she had just suddenly aged eighty years.

Even a smidgen of pride was present amidst the muck of her thoughts. There was no denying it, she had saved lives. Not something that took control or her and used her barely conscious body for some kind of incredible feat, no. Just her and Ariel’s amazing sword that seemed to be so very compatible with her magic. Her hands were still shaking slightly and burning dully from the magical exertion, but it had been more than worth it. Everyone had escaped with their lives. Irika couldn’t suppress the satisfaction of personally paying back all of the grief dragons had caused her either.

“Hey there,” a weak voice called out, not from behind her but in front of her. Irika snapped her face up from her hands and stared at Ariel who was staring back at her with heavy eyes.

“Ariel! Oh thank goodness,” Irika said and fell onto her knees, leaning on Ariel’s bed. “How are you feeling?”

Ariel lifted her arm towards Irika weakly but gave up halfway as it was on the wrong side of the bed. “Not bad… not too good,” she said. “Think I… Think I… pushed myself a bit too far… this time...”

Irika bent over Ariel’s bed and grabbed her hand. Both of Irika’s small hands couldn’t cover all of Ariel’s one. “Oh, wow, you’re cold. Do you want more blankets? Should I remove the cloth on your forehead?” Irika asked. Ariel groaned and obviously attempted to sit up, but Irika pushed her back down. “Absolutely not. You’re staying in bed. And you’re not leaving it until you’re well,” she said, picked up the cloth on Ariel’s forehead, dipped it in the bucket of cool water and plopped it back on her face.

“Mmh. Yes, mother,” Ariel said. “Cold feels good,” she added and sighed.

“Are you hungry? Thirsty?” Irika asked. She vaguely remembered Iyu saying something about food being available.

“Water would be… good,” Ariel replied. “I don’t think I could… eat much right now.” Every sentence she spoke took visible effort out of her.

“I’ll be right back,” Irika said, bolted up and all but ran out of the room.

She wiped her face and strode along the hallway with fierce determination. Whatever Ariel wanted, she would give to her. She would nurse Ariel to be as fit as ever, and then they would finally sit down and talk. _Finally._ They had saved each others’ necks enough times by now to lay everything out in the open. Irika was sick and tired of the passive ambiguity and not knowing when the next dragon would swoop down and kill her before she actually got the important things out.

For the next full day Irika barely left Ariel’s bedside. She insisted on feeding Ariel like the knight had done for her back when she had been recuperating at Ries’ farmstead. Irika told Ariel about her flight and adventure up in the north, though she left out the parts about the mysterious being for now. She’d tell the whole story from the very beginning of those strange possessions once Ariel had recovered. Ariel in turn recounted her chase from Hilders to Cuan to Irika in bits and pieces, aided quite bombastically and dramatically by the straw-haired man who stopped by to check on Ariel every now and then. Irika learned that his name was Gregor, but it remained unclear to her exactly why he was following Ariel. Sometimes he would just stand in the doorway for a while, smile at them and then leave.

Another man, clad in a shiny plate armor and a regal blue tabard also stopped by a few times, introducing himself as Holt from Erwayn. He apologized to Irika for not having been able to stop Ariel from going after her while sick to the point of dropping.

“Well, she did save my life again so I should be thanking you for… not being able to stop her?” Irika replied to his apology.

Holt chuckled and bowed himself out without another word.

“You picked up some odd people on your way here,” Irika said to Ariel.

Ariel laughed and coughed. She seemed to be getting stronger by the hour. “At least the ride wasn’t lonely,” she said and hesitated for a moment. “I missed you, you know. I realize it was only a few days, but I really missed you.”

Irika felt her eyes well up again but grit her teeth and swallowed the tears down. “I- I missed you too,” she said. “When you’re feeling better, can we… can we talk? You know, about everything? _Everything?_ ” she nearly pleaded.

Ariel stared at her, propped her hand on the bed and tried to sit up. Irika was about to stop her again, but Ariel interjected. “Lemme sit up,” she said and sat up with a small grunt. “All the lying down is making me numb. And the healer’s medicine is definitely working better than Gregor’s,” she added and looked Irika in the eye. “Could you close the door? I don’t want… people… listening in,” Ariel said and Irika could all but hear the omitted ‘Gregor’ in Ariel’s tone.

“Sure,” Irika said, stood up, closed and bolted the door. She picked up the candle from the bedside table and used the wick to light the two oil lamps in the room.

“First of all, thank you. For what you did back in the mountains… woods? Where were we back there again? It’s all kind of hazy,” Ariel began, scratching her head.

“It was a forest in a valley up in the mountains,” Irika said through her surprise. She hadn’t expected to be thanked, especially by the person who had explicitly saved _her_ life. Before she could wonder out loud, Ariel continued.

“From what I understood, you saved everyone there, me included. I also heard you killed a proper mature dragon before that, quite the insane feat!” she said and grinned at Irika. “That being said, I also have to apologize to you.”

This time Irika was surprised enough to start. “What? Why?” she asked.

“You know, all the way up until know I’ve still sort of thought of you as a ‘kid’ and a ‘girl’. Even _after_ what I’ve seen you do multiple times. I hated it so much when I was belittled as a teenager. I hated it enough to buff myself up like this so that people wouldn’t do it ever again!” Ariel grinned even wider and flexed her arm. “Yet I keep doing it to you. So I’m sorry.

Irika had to mull over the apology for a moment. She had never been particularly bothered by it and Ariel hadn’t really belittled her in a long while, but it sounded like it had been bothering the knight for some time. “I don’t really mind. It’s not like I know most of the things that adults should know anyway. If you asked me something about taxes I couldn’t possibly tell you,” she replied and smiled sheepishly at Ariel.

Ariel laughed. “There’s more to being an adult than taxes, you know. At this point, a person of your caliber could probably become an officer in the Military State just by merit alone.” She stared at Irika, her eyes twinkling in the lamplight.

Irika blushed and hid in her hands. She did feel that budding pride for what she had done, but she was still not good at taking compliments. “Thanks,” she replied meekly into her palms. “For the first time I feel like I actually did something. Like _I_ actually did something.” She stared right back at Ariel from between her fingers, almost ready to burst into the story of her magical benefactor right now.

Ariel laughed again, softer this time. “You know why I originally took a liking to you?” she asked with a mischievous grin, obviously knowing that she was embarrassing Irika even further.

“Because of my goddess-like looks and boundless intelligence?” Irika quipped, refusing to give in to her rapidly heating face.

Ariel snorted. “Not too far off, actually!” she said and laughed again. “It’s because you reminded me of my younger sister. Both in looks and in wit. You still do,” she continued, scooched back on her bed to lean against the tall headboard and gestured toward the foot end. “You should sit down somewhere softer, this will probably take a while.”

Irika was surprised to hear Ariel mention something about her family. The knight hadn’t divulged much of anything about her personal life thus far, and as much as Irika had wanted to ask, she had instead acquiesced to waiting patiently. Now that the moment was apparently at hand, Irika’s stomach leapt in giddy anticipation as she settled to sitting cross-legged at the foot of Ariel’s bed.

“You know, my father used to call my little sister ‘kiddo’. That’s probably where I picked it up from,” Ariel said, her eyes unfocusing for a moment.

The past tense made Irika’s neck hair stand up. “U-used to?” she asked, already dreading the answer.

“Yes. My father and my sisters died seven years ago. Pirate raid. I had just been inducted into the State knights and rushed home to them, only to find the part of town razed to the ground,” Ariel said.

Irika gasped and covered her mouth. She had anticipated it from Ariel's earlier tone, but hearing the knight's slightly defeated sounding words made her eyes threaten to well up again. Ariel smiled at her. It was a weak sort of smile that seemed to be struggling with something.

“Do you want me to tell you about them?” she asked. There was a strange sort of cadence to her question, and the look in her large, black eyes was almost pleading.

Irika swallowed hard. This story was likely going to be more than Irika had been prepared for, but she wouldn’t miss it for the world. “Only if you want to,” she managed to reply.

Ariel smiled a much stronger, warmer sort of smile. “You’re pretty amazing, you know that, Irika? You’re so young and you’ve been through so much shit that you never deserved. Yet you’re always considerate and polite to a fault, and you always have this clear, determined look in your eye, even when you’re scared or confused. Like you’ll never give up on anything and end up fighting tooth and nail no matter what. You’ve inspired me more than just a little and brought me back down to earth from my martyr trip.” Ariel kept staring at Irika and Irika kept staring back. “You’ve made me realize what really matters. Even now you’re doing me another favor by listening,” Ariel finished and chuckled again. She – thankfully – didn’t seem to be expecting a reply this time. Irika couldn’t have said much of anything to the deluge of praise.

Ariel leaned her head back against the headboard and sighed deep. “Story time then, I guess. Seeing as we've been traveling together for a while and I’ve been everything but straightforward with you, I owe you this much. And so much more.” She paused for a while, looking uneasy. “And… it’s a good chance to air out my feelings for a bit. Or a lot. I’ve actually never told anyone in the State or anywhere else much of anything about my family. Honestly, there haven’t been too many people who would even be interested to know. And… I’ve definitely been running away from it all for all of these years.” She looked Irika straight in the eye again.

“It’s a bit annoying to try to think of a good starting point, so I’m just gonna start at the _very_ beginning,” she said and drew in a deep breath.


	22. The Smith and the Soldier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ariel's story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this was the third chapter I ever wrote for this story, been sitting on it for a while and waiting for a good spot to drop it. That being said, if any chapter should have any glaring inconsistencies with the rest of the story, it'd be this one. I hope I caught them all, though!
> 
> As a side note, take a gander at the Sword and the Storm extras, if you so wish! I wrote a new short chapter touching on the thoughts of Sir Tolmann, one of Ariel's Landsknecht compatriots, regarding Brunn, Irika and whatever fate may be awaiting the land of Stenning at large.  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/15933605/chapters/45700399

 

_Of Names_

 

Ariel’s throat and chest both felt constricted. She had avoided speaking of her family to anyone for a good part of her life now; drudging up old hurts wasn’t exactly one of her favorite pastimes, and as old as this one was, it did still hurt. Enough to make her want to jump out of the bed and run out of the door rather than tell anyone the dreary tale of how she escaped her past into her work and became a jaded, mechanical soldier. But who she was about to tell the story to made all the difference.

Irika was sitting cross-legged opposite to her, face lit in rapt attention. She wouldn’t judge Ariel’s past actions and mistakes. She would empathize, likely enough to cry for her. She would listen and she would accept Ariel for all that she had become. That’s who Irika was. The constriction in Ariel’s heart slowly dissolved as she stared at Irika’s sweet face, hardly able to believe her luck in finding a companion like her.

“The memories I have of my early childhood are few and far between. I've probably taken a few too many blows to the head or something,” Ariel began, grinning at her self-deprecation. “My mother, Anni, died when I was two, shortly after giving birth to my younger sister Minnea.”

Irika’s eyes shot open at the name of her sister. Ariel smiled at her and continued. “My father, Alvar, was a fairly well-renowned blacksmith in a port town called Heide, in the tiny country of Sealand, off the western border of the Mercenary State. Have you ever heard of Sealand or Heide?” she asked Irika curiously. Her land of birth wasn’t exactly the mightiest of nations, but had a select few tales attached to it, and Irika seemed to love all kinds of tales and legends.

Irika pondered for a moment, then shook her head. She glanced at the three pearly white swords propped up against the wall of the room. Sharp as she was, Ariel had no doubt she had already figured out her naming convention.

"Yup," Ariel said tersely and nodded at the swords. “Father raised the two of us basically at the forge from the time we could walk. We would always be helping with carrying stuff, and when we were big enough, with things like working the bellows. Both of us thought father's work was the coolest and most interesting thing in the world. He later told me that he had wanted a son more than anything, up until I first picked up a hammer and started banging on an empty mold out of my own initiative. From that point on he started to raise us to become his successors instead. I was about six at this point I think.”

“You started training in smithing while you were _six_?” Irika asked, eyes round like saucers.

“Yep! Father didn’t let us near the most dangerous tools until we were a bit older, of course. He… absorbed himself in his work after mother died. Even neglected me and Minnea a bit for a month or so afterwards, or so I was told.” Ariel wracked her brain for a moment, but couldn’t summon up many personal memories from that time. All that she knew she had heard from other people much later. “A shopkeeper had recently moved in next door and their eldest daughter, who was… I think about twenty at the time, saw us alone in front of our house one day and proceeded to take care of us. One of the few things I remember clearly from that time is her shouting red-faced at my father at the forge. I had never seen a woman shouting at a man like that so I think that’s why it stuck,” Ariel continued and chuckled to herself. “My father later told me that she snapped him out of it big time. He apologized to me and my sister for almost abandoning us. It was jarring because my father never apologized to anyone before or since.”

“Never?” Irika asked.

“Never. He was a very, _very_ stubborn man. Always believed he was right in everything, and to be fair, most of the time he was. Except that one time,” Ariel recounted, grinning at the memory. “Our family was fairly well off because of father's skill, so he hired the shopkeeper’s daughter as a housemaid to take care of us, and later the house itself while all of us were grouping around the forge. Some years later he had fallen deep in love with her, and they had a child together. Ines, my youngest sister.”

Irika’s eyes swiveled to the shortsword Ariel had presented to her, confirming that she remembered the names Ariel had given her blades. Irika seemed to have taken a great liking to the sword, and from what Ariel had heard, even used it to cast great magic. She made a mental note to talk to Irika about it later; thanks to her entirely lackluster magical skills, she knew absolutely nothing about how and why the blades would respond to magic like that.

“Mystery solved? Not quite the legendary weapon naming convention of mythic heroes, but important to me nonetheless,” Ariel said, forcing herself to smile.

“I... I think it's really great. Much better than naming a sword after some dumb dragon that it slew or something,” Irika said thickly.

Ariel found it much easier to smile after Irika's comment. “Thank you. Anyway, my sister's mother. Minnea took to the housemaid like a new mother, but I still held on to the vague recollections of my own. I never could come to like her, not enough to even remember her name after all this time,” Ariel said, feeling slightly ashamed of herself, even so long after the fact. “I definitely inherited much of my father’s stubbornness. I didn't even want to know her, I thought she’d replace my mother in my mind and in my heart and I desperately didn’t want that. And at that point I had already been consumed by the forge, besides.”

Ariel sighed. The more she dug up her memories, the more embarrassed of her mulish, rebellious younger self she became. “I wanted to impress my father so much. My father probably took a heart-rending risk bringing a small girl so close to such a dangerous workstation, but I already knew what was too hot or too sharp to touch. I absorbed everything my father taught me. I woke up and went to the forge, watched him work to the depths of the night, and went to sleep. Minnea was usually with me, and my father's wife brought Ines to observe sometimes as well. By the time I was eight I was making my first tentative tools. Father used to call the tools I made ‘pranks’. Prank sickle, prank hammer.” Another grin spread Ariel’s lips before she could help it. “They tended to kinda... shatter when they hit something hard. Father sometimes hid them in customer's parcels as a joke.” She let out an exasperated sigh.

Irika giggled at the mental image, which made Ariel giggle as well. “He had a lot of fun with it, but I didn't. My craft didn't seem to improve at all, no matter how many years I trained, and no matter how much my fingers blistered. My younger sister Minnea on the other hand was making excellent tools and even some weaponry.” Her smile faltered at the bitter memory. “I _really_ had an inferiority complex towards her. Towards the end of our time together I was extremely unfair to her sometimes. Hateful, even. She was two years younger than me, but she had closed down the gap in our levels of experience and skill in no time, and rapidly catching up to my father’s.”

Ariel glanced at her armor and weapons neatly organized against the wall of the room. “That was about the time when I decided I wanted to become a soldier instead. Our father raised us on grueling physical work, so I pretty much already had the physique of one by the time I was in my mid-teens, and I was fairly tall for a girl besides. It was my only good point; my fingers were clumsy and I was not very smart, but I could damn well beat anyone in town in arm wrestling. Well, anyone except for my father.” Ariel smiled again and reflexively flexed her right arm.

“Your father must've been _really_ strong,” Irika gaped, staring at Ariel's muscles.

“Comes with the occupation I guess. He was built like an orc, belly and snout included.” Ariel glanced at Irika and they both giggled. “But I never really saw him do anything that revealed his full strength. I have this hazy memory of him picking up my mother and whirling her around like she weighed nothing. She was a pretty delicate woman though, I think. I can barely remember anything about her anymore.” Ariel swallowed heavily, trying to force the forming lump all the way down her throat. She hadn’t properly thought about her mother in years. It felt absurd that she still wasn’t completely over losing her, especially considering how little she remembered of her.

“Sorry, didn't mean to dig up painful memories,” Irika said weakly and sniffed.

“Wistful really, more than painful. And I'm the one choosing to dig them up anyway. I've... Like I said, I've never really aired my memories out to anyone like this. Been too occupied with making myself a future to worry about the past. And… and running away from it all. Either way, I'm actually glad someone's listening so intently, I can hardly stop talking,” Ariel said and meant it. As tough as the beginning had been, the more she spoke, the easier it got. She found herself _wanting_ to tell Irika everything about herself.

“So what did your dad think of you wanting to become a soldier?” Irika asked.

Ariel pondered for a moment. She had the distinct feeling her father hadn’t been all up-front with her about her decision, as was his wont regarding a great many things. “He wanted me to stick around to help, but our youngest sister Ines had already gotten the hang of all the busywork around the forge. She was only ten years old and she could whittle tool handles better than I ever could!” She hummed happily to herself at the mental image of little Ines hacking away at a piece of wood in a very dirty dress that once upon a time used to be light blue.

“There was nothing left for me to do at the smithy, and I wanted to get out. It was the decision of an emotional, angsty teenager, but my father agreed regardless. Despite his shortcomings, he was very smart with people. He must've noticed that I didn't feel comfortable around my sisters anymore, and I didn't feel comfortable around his new wife. I still missed my mother dearly, and every day at the forge reminded me of losing her.” Ariel sighed wearily. All of those regrets certainly hadn’t completely left her mind or her heart yet. They would probably never fade completely. But she had long since come to terms with the fact that her choices had hardly any bearing on everything that had happened back then.

“So I left. My father gave me a lot of his savings for the journey to the State Capital, and even wrote a ‘recommendation of physical excellence’. I especially thought the latter was silly and I didn't think I'd need either, but both of those things turned out incredibly useful.” Ariel noticed she was subconsciously flexing her arm again, as if she were reliving the story with her muscles. “Instead of having to work as a squire for anywhere from a year to three, I could afford my own initiate gear right away, and had proof of my skills to show to the military's initiators. I was basically on the same starting line as the sons of nobles and the like. I was a few years younger than most of the other initiates, and female to boot. Naturally I was laughed at and looked down on for most of the early initiation period. Fellow initiates called me “honey” and asked if I wanted to bed with them for extra credit, stuff like that.” Ariel grinned at the memory.

But Irika looked horrified at the concept. “That sounds awful! That must not have been allowed!” she exclaimed in outrage.

Ariel chuckled. “They stopped doing that when I split a padded training dummy clean down the middle with a sword my own height. I might not have been very good at forging, but I had sharpening weapons down pat. They put me in the “Elite Initiate” section the same night.”

Irika gasped. “You were already using a greatsword in your _teens?_ I can hardly lift one!”

“Like I said, benefits of having been born at a smithy to a blacksmith who was unlucky enough to have no sons!” Ariel said and laughed. “Besides, regular greatswords are much, much lighter than old Alvar over there.” She pointed her thumb at the beautiful blade that bore her father's name. “You could probably swing an ordinary zweihänder no problem.”

A black smudge of a tangent appeared in Ariel’s mind and she voiced it out before she could stop it. “Sometimes I've wondered what kind of life I would've led if I'd had an elder brother who inherited the smithy instead. Would I be a prissy, spoiled little maiden giggling in the arms of a storeowner's son?” She shuddered slightly. “I can honestly say I'm glad things turned out this way instead. Then again maybe... No, no point thinking about what ifs.”

Irika opened her mouth and looked like she was about to say something, but closed it and stared at her lap. Ariel waited for a moment to see whether she had anything to say. “What's an Elite Initiate?” Irika finally asked.

Ariel welcomed the change in topic and shot into explanation. “The EIs, Elite Initiates, is a State Military training section to produce elite knights. Every Landsknecht ever knighted has been an Elite Initiate, though not nearly every EI has made Landsknecht. We were served excellent food, had better sleeping quarters, and enjoyed more intensive and precise training. It was during that time that I really started to grow in height. I just never seemed to stop growing!” She grimaced at the memory. “My legs and back hurt so much, but I still had to train every day.”

Irika grimaced right along with her. “That sounds awful. I don’t remember having any growth pains like that. Well, then again… I guess I never really did have excellent food or intensive training in my life either.”

Ariel’s heart squeezed at how matter-of-factly Irika spoke of her poor conditions growing up. She was always like this, regarding other people’s fortune with interest and curiosity instead of envy or resentment. Ariel wanted to give Irika a hug or at least pat her head, but decided to focus on the story for a while longer. “Well, the product stands before you. I did stop growing eventually, but not before I was taller than almost everyone else in the city. It was as if my body complied with my mind's desire to prove every single one of my hecklers and doubters wrong. It was horrible back then, but it has been incredibly useful since.”

Irika stared at Ariel, eyes twinkling. “Did you make Landsknecht right away?” she asked eagerly.

“No. Let me see...” Ariel leaned her cheek on her fingers and pondered for a moment. I was sixteen or seventeen when I joined the initiates. Shortly after I was made an EI, and it was about three years later when I made knight. Training was boring, no stories to bother telling about there. The Mercenary State Knighthood requires you to have merits in order to be considered for the Landsknecht. This usually takes at least ten years, and may take well upwards of two decades, depending on what sort of missions you're assigned to.”

“How long did it take you?” Irika asked, even giddier than before.

Ariel was pleased that she could brag and feed Irika’s excitement. She gave her the victory sign with her fingers. “It took me about four years! I was so extremely lucky, though. Most of my missions as a knight weren't very exciting, seeing as the Mercenary State is currently in the middle of an unprecedented era of peace.” Ariel swished an imaginary sword in the air. “Small monster exterminations and some noble escorts and the like. The lucky break I got was when I was in the group who escorted the King of Stenning to Cuan.”

“You've met _the King in person!?_ ” Irika was almost beside herself with excitement. “Isn't he really tall? Are you taller than him?”

Ariel laughed again. “I think we're about the same height. I never got to stand that close to him to compare.” She wracked her brain for memories of the man. “Now that I think about it, he actually did look a bit shocked when he saw us the first time. I didn't realize it back then but I think he might've been shocked at me in particular. Maybe he was wondering about which one of us was taller, too.”

Irika curled sideways onto the bed and laughed. “My mom used to tell me stories about how the King is actually a midget with magical shoes inside his royal robe.”

Ariel barked out in laughter as well. “Well, the magic is very well hidden if that is true. He was wearing plate armor instead of a robe during that escort. Pretty sure he was expecting trouble, which is why he hired us Mercs in the first place.”

“I've only seen the King once and he didn't have Mercs with him back then. At least I don’t think so. I think it was just something like six of his own guard, or at least they were all wearing Stenning colors.” Irika’s eyes unfocused and she blinked a few times. “Now that I think about it, the knight who visited you earlier wore the same colors!”

“That’ll be Holt. He’s a Burgmann, or a royal guard from Erwayn. Sharp eyes as usual!” Ariel said, leaned forward and poked Irika’s cheek.

Irika sat back up and grinned bashfully at Ariel. “Did the King not have his… Burgmanns...? With him when you escorted him?” she asked.

“He did, six of them. But evidently he needed or wanted someone who knew the roads of western Cuan as his escort as well. He was heading for Cuanwar, which is sort of like the capital of western Cuan, seeing as this country is so damn big. Three of us State knights were escorting the King and the Queen, making it a total guard of nine. Each of us was riding next to one of three carriages. The King’s supplies and gifts were in the first carriage, the second one was empty, and the third one housed the King and his wife.”

Irika looked completely nonplussed at the description. Ariel smiled and continued. “I was impressed to hear that this setup had been the King's own idea. The image I have of royalty is that they want to ride in a single decorated carriage, or that they always want to ride at the head of the group. I don't know much about the King of Stenning, but he seems more like a military man than a regular royal of inheritance,” she said, smiling ever wider at Irika's building confusion. “You're wondering why I was impressed by this?”

Irika nodded. Ariel could see the question marks in her eyes.

“This setup was tactically sound. Any attackers would naturally think that the VIPs are sitting in either the first carriage for their hubris and status, or the second one for the protection from all sides. Instead the King chose the last carriage, with the option to swiftly turn around and flee back to known safety, if it was required. Us State knights had been told that they didn’t particularly expect any trouble on the way and that it was just a precaution, but we knew better. And sure enough, our caravan was set upon a small group of orcs right after we had crossed the border to Cuan. One of the bastards got a lucky crossbow shot on the captain of the King's guard.” Ariel touched her throat absent-mindedly and winced slightly. It was too easy for her to slip back into the moment of a battle. “One of my colleagues and the leader of our trio, Adelan, rushed to kill the crossbowmen, but fell into a trap. I assumed command of the remaining soldiers, and we managed to avoid the other traps and clear out the attackers. Thankfully the King had chosen some _very_ skilled archers for his guard.”

Irika fidgeted in her spot, her face switching between excitement and horror. “It was a planned ambush, then? What happened to Adelan?”

“Adelan was alive, but his legs were broken. The King's guard captain was dead.” Ariel leaned back and stared at the ceiling for a moment. “I had a sneaking feeling that it had been a planned ambush, and that it wasn't the only one we would face if we moved onward. The King acquiesced and told us that they had been expecting something like this. Orcs are not civilized or extremely intelligent, but they are smart when it comes to battles, and they do know what a King represents. So, instead of hastening our way along the path we had previously chosen, or abandoning it altogether, I recommended we double back about fifteen miles and take a smaller, less traveled branch road to Cuan. I've always liked studying maps and Atlases and the like, so I knew about the smaller paths in the region.”

“Why maps?” Irika wondered.

“They're fun to read and they... don't have too many words.” Ariel felt a slight blush rising to her cheeks at her confession. “I'm not fond of prose. Especially after having had to cram my head full of the Knight's Code and Guivvallon's law.”

Irika grinned. “I get it. I do like storybooks myself but I get it. Did you manage to get to Cuan?”

“Yes. The King decided we'd do what I recommended. We doubled back, took the less traveled road, and arrived in Cuan without meeting any more resistance. The King told the Warlord of Cuanwar what had happened, and they sent a group of hunters back the main road to investigate.” A viciously satisfied smile rose onto Ariel’s lips. “The Cuan soldiers ambushed two more packs of orcish ambushers in the tundra gorges about twenty miles south of Cuanwar. They had planned to crush our caravan under rockslides from above.”

Irika whooped. Ariel grinned at her. “The King of Stenning sang high praise of my leadership and tactician skills to the General King. I was nominated for Landsknecht two months later, and passed with recommendations from the supreme leaders of two countries as well as every instructor I'd ever had.” Ariel grinned some more, then grimaced. “Except the magic instructors. They probably wanted to kick me out of the State altogether. I can't say I was ever very polite to them.”

Irika giggled. “I can imagine. Not like your lack of magical talent hindered you much, did it?”

“It sure didn't!” Ariel huffed proudly, thumping her chest in triumph. “I was knighted three years ago. The youngest Landsknecht in over four decades, only the third female Landsknecht in recent history and the twelfth altogether, since the forming of the Mercenary State, and one of two alive who couldn't use even an ounce of magic. Only three years... It feels like it's been so much longer.” Her smile faltered in spite of herself. She unconsciously brought her right hand to the hollow of her left shoulder and shivered at her own touch. “But!” She finished with an exclamation. Irika jumped. “Maybe I've found something else worth doing because all of this happened!” She gently slapped at her hollow shoulder with her remaining arm and laughed.

Irika was visibly confused by the cavalcade of emotions Ariel had just gone through, mirroring them all at the same time to a veritably amusing effect. Ariel chuckled, but the dim, oppressing cloud that had hung over her mind when she had started the story slowly returned. She had sidestepped the fate of her family, whether by accident or by subconscious design. She still owed Irika that part of the story, no matter how painful and depressing it was to retell. “My story digressed a little, didn't it? I didn't tell you about what happened just after I had made State knight,” she said, dug up the small, rough, lump of iron hanging around her neck like a mockery of a pendant and turned it around in her fingers.

“This… this might be the reason why my family died. Or a part of it. Or at least, over all these years, I haven’t been able to figure out what else it could have been. Maybe there wasn’t any reason at all, maybe it was just pure coincidence. But the pirates… they were after _something_ ,” Ariel said, holding the pendant up for Irika to see.

Irika stared at the walnut-sized flat piece of iron with her mouth open. “What is it?” she asked.

“As far as I know, it’s just a shard of iron. I’ve examined it thoroughly and even had a State metallurgist take a look at it. There’s absolutely nothing special about it, except that it’s the only memento I have of my mother.” Ariel sighed, pulled the pendant from around her neck and set it down on the bed between herself and Irika. “She got it from my father’s father as a wedding gift long before I was born. What a lousy gift, right? But I heard from my father that he had guarded it most jealously considering it’s an ugly lump of iron. My father always said that my grandfather was a bit insane and died relatively young because of it.” Ariel’s mind clouded even thinking about the repercussions of her grandfather’s inheritance. “His actions would come to haunt his descendants decades later.”

 

 

_Return to Nothing_

 

Ariel rushed her whimpering horse on to gallop faster and faster. She knew that it was too much for the poor creature to handle, but she had no time to lose. Branches slapped her in the face as she rode through the thinning woods, the final stretch before Heide. She had been inducted as a knight of the State two days ago, but given the chance she would go back in time, ignore the ceremony and make this journey instead. Abandon her life's ambition for the sake of family.

Word had reached Capital City early that afternoon – Heide had been set upon by pirates. They had pillaged a smithy and some of the surrounding buildings in town and vanished, seemingly disinterested in the bulging coffers of the town hall's treasury downtown. The news hadn't said anything about which of the three smithies had been hit, or anything about casualties. Ariel needed to know and had no time to wait around for another courier to bring news. She had pushed her horse shamefully hard for the entire day. The beast was panting, whining and shaking from exertion under her, but Ariel was too sick of worry and dread to be conscientious about it. Night was rapidly falling and she had to make it before darkness set in. She had to know. The southern district of Heide soon came into view from beyond the woods in the waning light. It was right past here, right past-

“NO!”

Ariel's heart wrenched as she screamed out her anguish. The smithy was in ruins, a light veil of steam issuing from within in the drizzling rain. The door and windows to the smithy were all in splinters. The house attached to it had been burned to the ground. She tugged her horse to a violent halt and all but fell off of it. She clambered up off the muddy, sopping ground and ran for the remains of her home.

“No, no, this can't be, they have to be safe, they have to...” Utter despair bubbled from within as she reached the scorched remains of the front door. Nothing was left intact. Pieces of the partially collapsed roof covered most of the floor, with wet ashes and chunks of furniture and belongings strewn around. Strength left Ariel's body as she fell to her knees and cried like she had never cried before. Somewhere deep in her mind she knew that she didn't have the time for this, but she felt completely paralyzed by despair. What was the point of anything anymore? Her family was dead and her home was gone.

But she didn't know that yet; they might have fled in time. Someone had to know. Still on her knees and eyes blurred with tears and rain, Ariel looked around the neighborhood. The houses to either side of her home had also been severely burned. The grocer shop on the opposite side of the small plaza in front of the smithy as well as other houses on that side had been pillaged but not torched. Every house in the district looked abandoned. The more she took in the damages in the neighborhood, the more she felt that this seemed like a deliberate attack specifically on her home. Why?

With a painful pang Ariel noticed that her horse had collapsed on the ground, its head turned back against its body. It was dripping wet and panting madly, trembling all over. Ariel got up onto her feet and shakily walked to her horse. Her poor horse. Extremely well trained and presented to her mere two days ago as a gift of Knighthood. And this is what she had done to it. She hadn't even named it yet. “I'm so sorry,” she said to it, fell down again and cradled the horse's great, shivering head in her arms, her tears flowing freely. Its eyes were closed and it seemed to be catatonic and unresponsive. “I'm so sorry.”

After a long moment, Ariel picked herself up from the ground. She needed to know. About what happened, about the fate of her family, everything. She turned towards the center of the city and forced herself to walk. She was hardly aware of the streets passing by in the twinkling of evening lamplights, or the homes with warmly lit windows housing happy families eating their dinners, or the taverns with the sounds of music and revelry issuing from within, or her own soaking wet clothes and skin numbed by the cold. She just walked. Eventually she found herself standing at the door of the town hall. She'd been here on business before, so she knew that the guildmaster lived upstairs. She lifted the knocker on the door and banged it three times.

After a moment she heard footsteps and mumbling from inside. “It's past business hours, why do they always... Goodness, _Ariel?”_ The round-faced guildmaster opened the door and seemed flabbergasted at her arrival. “Oh you poor girl, come in, come in from the rain, get yourself warm. You're here because of the smithy I know, word came around fast didn't it?” The guildmaster was rambling and knocking things over, pulling Ariel into the warmth of the town hall's hearth.

“Where are they. Are they dead?”

The guildmaster's eyes shot open at Ariel's pointed question. His face told her everything she needed to know, as he looked away and grimaced.

Ariel fell to her knees again, her grief now overflowing. She had reached her dream and lost everything so quickly. What was the point of being a knight if she couldn't protect the ones she loved? She barely felt the guildmaster's hand on her shoulder.

“I'm sorry my girl. I'm so very sorry. Died without pain they did, I assure you. Fought the pirates like madmen, yelling at them to get out of their house. Went protecting their home,” he said in an infuriatingly patronizing tone, like talking to a child.

“I should've been there too, I should be dead too!” Ariel shouted and grabbed the guildmaster by the scruff of his shirt. There was no possible justification for any of this.

“Rather be glad you didn't, girl. They wouldn't what you to go with them,” the guildmaster continued his aggravatingly soft and kind words.

“What the hell is the point of being here if they're not?!” Ariel screamed directly in his face. “TELL ME!”

The guildmaster fell silent and covered his face with his hand. He sobbed once softly, then took a deep breath and laid his palm on Ariel’s hand, still clutching his shirt. “Come on. You need broth and dry clothes,” he said.

Ariel's heart wanted her to catch her death of cold and die. The disgusting, realistic part of her brain told her to get warm and cope. She was at a loss as to which one she should listen to, so she let her body decide. Her body was desperate for warmth. She took the guildmaster's offered hand, despite not seeing the point of it all.

Half an hour later Ariel was sitting in the guildmaster's sitting room, coddled by his wife. She didn't bother trying to pay attention to whatever the woman was saying. She merely stared at the fire and thought about everything she had lost. Her father and her sisters, her home, even the housemaid… no, his father's wife. They had all died fighting? Where were their bodies? Did they burn down along with the house? Ariel retched at her own thoughts. She couldn't stop shivering. Why did the pirates attack _her_ house? Why _her_ home? Did they have something they wanted? They must have had, there was no reason a group of pirates would attack a sparsely populated area of a wealthy city otherwise. What did they have that the pirates found valuable enough to kill and raze for? She just couldn’t understand.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. She expected the guildmaster's wife, but it was the guildmaster himself. “Ariel. I made some night calls. Some people will come over in the morning to explain everything they know to you, so sleep here tonight. You deserve to know everything, but you also need some rest.”

Ariel couldn't see how she could sleep, but at the same time she had never felt so tired in her entire life. Tired of everything.

 

* * *

 

Ariel opened her eyes, feeling sunlight on her face. Her body had betrayed her and refused to die in her sleep. She sobbed once softly, and then inhaled and exhaled deep to curb the trembling that was attempting to return.

Yesterday seemed so insanely far away, like at the end of a very long, pitch black tunnel. Today wouldn't be any easier, and neither would the day after. She was sure other people were able to live with their losses somehow, but she didn't see how she would. She was still sitting in the soft chair in front of the guildmaster's fireplace, draped in a warm quilt provided by his wife. Ariel could hear the wife humming something in the kitchen. “ _How peaceful,”_ she thought angrily, wanting the guildmaster and her wife to suffer like she did so they'd understand how she felt. Then she felt sick to her stomach at what she had just thought about these people who took her in and kept her safe. The sickness of it and everything else bubbled up like a geyser, and she vomited onto the floor in front of the fireplace.

The guildmaster's wife pattered into the room and started hassling Ariel, sounding worried out of her mind. “Oh no, oh no, are you alright dear? Did you catch a cold in the rain? Here wait, I'll bring you some warm water and clean that right up!”

Ariel felt even sicker having wanted this sweet, sweet woman to suffer any sort of pain, and vomited again.

By early afternoon, Ariel was sitting clothed and bathed at a table with four other people. The guildmaster was there, and she recognized the stablemaster from near her neighborhood, but the two others were strangers.

“I believe you know Regis, he tells me your families were friendly – and this is Corrant, the wharfmaster, and Dire, the head constabulary,” the guildmaster introduced the men, each of them nodding at Ariel in turn.

Regis, the stablemaster, spoke first. “Went to investigate screamin' last night. Found a horse what was not in a good state. It yers?”

Ariel felt another white hot stab of sickness shoot through her, but forced it back down and nodded.

“Had to put him down, am afraid. Was all but dead on the road,” Regis said and cast his eyes down at the table.

The tears forced their way out again, as the horror and regret of her selfishness at the expense of the poor animal suffocated Ariel’s mind. “I- I had just received him, not three days ago. He was supposed to be my designated horse. I k-killed him running here. He didn't deserve it,” she sobbed, feeling the need to explain and berate herself.

The stablemaster harrumphed, but didn't sound angry. “I get ye. Is a sad thing when somethin' like that happens, but they're workin' animals after all. The news musta shocked ye right down to yer soul.” The stablemaster's understanding tone only made Ariel feel worse. She really wanted him to be furious with her, to shout at her, to punch her. Anything to turn the pain physical, at least she knew how to deal with that.

After a short moment of silence, the man the guildmaster had introduced as the wharfmaster spoke up. “Neither our wharf patrol or the lighthouse keeper ever saw the pirates come. Which means they were manning dinghies and fell onto land well outside of the port.”

The constabulary next to him nodded. Ariel didn’t remember either of their names anymore. “Our street patrols didn't notice anything out of ordinary that night either. This was not a raid, this was a strike.”

Ariel looked at both in turn, at a loss for words.

The wharfmaster continued. “What we mean is, they targeted your house specifically. A small group of about twelve rounded the city and attacked the smithy. Your family fought them, but were… killed.”

Ariel shuddered violently, but the constabulary pressed on with the report. “I know this is hard for you to hear, but I believe it is necessary for your peace of mind. All four of them died from combat wounds, likely instantly. Their bodies were recovered, and are now resting in the city's morgue, awaiting burial. According to some of your neighbors, including Mr. Regis here, the pirates ransacked your house, the two houses next to it, and then torched them. They continued pillaging the houses around the street, and fled when our guard finally reached the situation. We're almost certain that they were searching for something. Do you have any idea what it might be?”

Ariel felt the confusion and anger from before return. She had no idea whatsoever about what the pirates might have been after. Their smithy was a normal business and they had nothing to hide. None of them had even left Heide for as long as she had been alive. She told the men so, not bothering to cover up the fury in her voice.

“We had hoped to glean some answers from you, for your sake as much as ours. We're very sorry to hear that you're as stumped about this as we are, and we're very sorry for your loss,” the constabulary said and nodded morosely at Ariel. “Alvar and his daughters did a lot of work for us, they were good people.”

The wharfmaster and the constabulary offered their meaningless, generic condolences and left. The guildmaster was still sitting at the table, twiddling his thumbs. Regis, the stablemaster, stood up and turned to Ariel. “Ye mind coming to turn by my place, lass? I've got somethin' to say.”

The guildmaster looked up at him. “Private business? Go on then, I understand.”

“Thanks, Willem. I know what yer obligations are, we won't bother ye with thin's ye don't wanna be hearin',” Regis said and nodded at the guilmaster.

The guildmaster grunted affirmatively at Regis' words, lifted his slightly shaky hands back onto the table and sighed wearily. He grabbed Ariel's arm when she got up to leave. “I'm very sorry for your loss, Ariel. Please tell me if there's anything I can do. Your family was well liked in this part of the town. I want nothing but good for you.”

Ariel couldn't stand his kindness, but nodded.

The stablemaster was waiting at the door and beckoned Ariel to follow. She felt like the man might have been withholding some answers for her, so she went. Ariel shielded her eyes from the sun and stared at the cloudless blue sky; the weather had turned from dreary to positively beautiful, as if to spite Ariel's grief. She had met people who had lost loved ones before, even some of her comrades were lone survivors from some incident or other. She had never actually thought about just how much they had to withstand every second that they continued to live.

The pair made their way towards Ariel's neighborhood, but stopped at a large house with a long, tall annex that smelled like horses. Ariel’s gut wrenched in another pang of shame and grief for her steed.

“In we go, have somethin' you'll wanna hear,” Regis said and motioned for Ariel to go inside before him. Ariel entered the house with a profound sense of foreboding. They hadn't even settled into sitting before Regis started to talk, as if he couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Ye'll wanna know this. Yer father talked to me once, long time ago. Before ye were born.”

Ariel’s foreboding feeling turned into a continuous shiver as she sat down on a chair Regis had pulled up for her.

“I'll get straigh' to the point. The pirates were prob'ly looking for somethin' called ' _The Voice o’ the Goddess_ '. I don't know what it is, but I think yer father had it, and his father before him.”

Ariel had never heard her father talk about any such thing. “Why would my father have it?” she asked, thoroughly confused.

“Yer grandfather found it, and somethin' else besides. Even yer father didn't know what. Brought them home from overseas. He told yer father on his deathbed that he had hidden it in the smithy. At first yer father had thought him delirious, but he kept on insisting,” Regis recounted, tapping his fingers on his knee nervously. “Turned yer house around, yer father and yer mother did. Looked the house and the forge ten times over, findin' nothin'. He didn't seem to know what he was lookin' for either, just that it was valuable and needed to be kept safe. This pirate business made me remember. I can't fathom what else they could've wanted. Apparently yer granddad didn't even tell yer father _what_ the ‘Voice o’ the Goddess’ or the other thin's was on his damned deathbed. Wanted to take it to the grave with him.” He harrumphed and looked away. “Don't seem like he covered his tracks too well did it, if some pirate scum found his way here in chase of it.”

Ariel's incredulous confusion had peaked listening to Regis’ story. She had never heard her father mention a 'Voice of the Goddess' or anything else that her grandfather might have brought into their home. She barely knew anything about her grandfather in the first place. Her mind was a mess. She wished more than anything that she could talk to her father about this. “So what do I do now?” she asked weakly, half-knowing that Regis couldn't possibly have any answers for her.

The stablemaster stroked his scruffy beard for a while. “Ye want my opinion? Get out of here. Leave the bad memories and don’t return ‘till they've gone cold.” The stout, rough man's advice caught Ariel off-guard. “But if ye want some closure or whatnot... Ye might consider searching yer house once over. Will be painful, 'specially if ye don't find anything. But in the case ye do, might shed some light on this shitty matter.”

Ariel found herself surprised and genuinely thankful for this no-nonsense advice. The last thing she wanted now was coddling and patronizing and pitying looks. The best thing she could do to cope was to do _something._ “Thank you, Regis. I appreciate you omitting the bullshit and getting to the point. I really do,” she said, wiping the dried tears off her face. The last ones, she told herself.

Regis humphed, still looking away from her. “Ain't much more a bitter ol’ man can do. Liked yer father, I did. I ain't gonna let her girl fall onto nothin' after he's gone.”

Ariel forced back the tears that were about to come in spite of her decision and swallowed hard. After a moment of deep breathing, she found her voice more resolute than she felt. “I'll go look at the smithy. Can you help me?” she asked.

Regis nodded without delay. “Aye, I'll help.”

 

* * *

 

The smithy was just as ruined at it had been the day before. The house was in shambles and thrown into lamentable contrast in the bright sunlight. Ariel felt numb and unable to process what her eyes were seeing. This had been her entire childhood, her safe haven, her castle. And now it was gone.

“Better get to work then, aye. Yer father said he turned the house upside-down lookin', but maybe the fire uncovered somethin'. Ye should look over the forge,” Regis said and futilely pointed towards the smithy, as if Ariel needed directions in her own home.

Ariel said nothing, and went to work. The forgehouse was an annex to the main house, connected by a short and tight hallway shaped out of stone bricks. The forge room itself was made out of hewn stone and clay. The forgehouse was still standing intact, but its doors and windows had been ripped off their hinges, and the forge itself was skewed and crumbled, with coals and burnt embers thrown everywhere. It was warmer inside than outside, with the forge pit still emitting some leftover heat from the embers that had burned in it mere days before. Someone had thrown the smaller anvil – used for shaping clasps, nails and other minor metalwork – into the forge pit. Most of the clay furnace cups were broken, and the large clay plate at the base of the forge pit was tilted and cracked.

“What a fucking mess, fucking bastards!” Ariel swore under her breath as she had to fight the coming tears again. The forgehouse certainly had more hiding places for whatever her grandfather had hidden than the main house, considering her father had done his utmost to find this ‘Voice of the Goddess’ and whatever else her grandfather had brought home. Ariel started turning the furnace cups on the ground as if something might be hidden under them, until she realized she was just hesitant to move anything else. She had spent the most of her childhood in this very room, watching her father work his magic on metal and turning it useful. How could she even think about tearing it apart? She had obviously made the worse choice, she should've just left the city.

Regis shuffled in from the doorway that connected the main house to the forgehouse. “Ain't nothin' on this side, no hidden hatches on the floor or walls that I could find. I reckon yer father checked those good to begin with. Any luck?” he asked.

Ariel got up off the floor, sniffed and shook her head.

“What have ye looked at so far?” Regis glanced around the forgeroom.

“Basically nothing. It's- It's hard,” Ariel said. She hated that she couldn’t stop shaking, she hated it so much.

“I get ye. Ye want to change yer mind?” Regis asked, staring at Ariel from under his brow.

Ariel shook her head. She had come here and she would find this thing and leave.

Regis nodded, then turned and started pushing, pulling and knocking on the stones that lined the walls of the forge room. Ariel turned her attention to the vicinity of the forge pit. She picked up the anvil that had cracked the back wall and floor plates of the forge with a grunt and put it aside on the table behind her. The cracked forge looked dismal, with only random burnt embers left here and there. She brushed them aside with her hand and picked up a large shard of the bottom plate that was jutting out like a sore thumb. Something was glinting underneath the thick plate. “Something here,” she said, not even being able to form a coherent sentence from the jolt of unexpected discovery. She started pulling the larger of the clay plates out, but it was still tightly masoned onto the wall of the forge.

“Here, ye take that side,” Regis said and started pulling on the plate on his side. Ariel took the other. They wrenched the plate up as hard as they could, until a large piece broke off. Underneath was a tight alcove that seemed to extend behind the forge and into the hollow base of the brick chimney. Within the alcove rested some kind of a clay cocoon, with a piece broken off at one end. Something was glinting out of the cocoon.

“Let's get ‘er all up, then,” Regis said and started pulling on the remaining parts of the clay base. Soon they had broken the forge entirely, but Ariel's indignation at the act had been completely erased by the clay cocoons that they had pulled out. It took the both of them to heave out three cocoons, the largest of which was so heavy that Regis almost threw his back lifting it out of the alcove. Ariel had had to strain herself to bring half of it over on her own.

The three cocoons varied in size and thickness, though all were oblong in shape. The largest was almost as tall as Ariel, and the two smaller ones extended to her Ariel's hip and knee respectively. She wasted no time in bringing out one of the forging hammers and starting to break the cocoons open. They revealed three large pieces of some marble-like ceramic material, with streaks of various light colors waving across them in parallel streaks. Ariel was out of breath with the effort of pulling the cocoons up and breaking them open, as well as the shock of what was inside. She had never seen a material like this in her years of smithing, and couldn’t believe how heavy the pieces were.

“What are they?” Regis asked, mirroring Ariel’s confusion, though with a clear hint of excitement.

“I have no idea. Have you ever seen anything like this material?” she asked him.

“Never in me life. Do ye think one o’ these could be that ‘Voice o’ the Goddess’ thing?” he asked, picked up the smallest piece with a grunt and ran his hands along the surface.

“I don’t know… Would there be three of them? My grandfather called it _The_ Voice of the Goddess, right?” Ariel said, desperately trying to get her mind in working order.

Regis put the smallest piece back next to the others and huffed quietly. “Maybe these are the ‘other things’ yer granddad said he hid, but what and where is the ‘Voice’ thing, then?” he asked.

Ariel certainly didn’t have an answer for him. She had no answers for anyone, least of all herself. But at least these three pieces of material gently shimmering in the sunlight seemed unusual and valuable enough to shed some light on why their house had been targeted by pirates. It was no justification and didn’t make her feel any better whatsoever, but at least there _was_ a reason.

“No wonder my father never found them. I think the forge has been standing since before he was born, there was no way he would have ever even seen them,” Ariel mused and tried to pick up the largest piece by herself. She could just manage to lift it to her chest level with considerable effort. It was absurdly heavy for its size.

Regis mumbled something to himself and stared absent-mindedly at the forge. “Oi, there's one more thin' in here...” He dove into the ruins of the forge and pulled out yet another clay cocoon from the very back of the chimney. This one was much lighter and smaller than the other three.

Ariel grabbed a hammer and smashed it open. Inside was a small book. She tore the first page open like her life depended on it.

“It's my grandfather's diary.”


	23. The Blades and the Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mystery solved! Well, one of 'em anyway. Also, something nice happens _finally!_

 

_Legacy_

 

Irika was curled at the foot of Ariel’s bed, hugging her knees and staring at the small book in Ariel's extended hand. The tears that Ariel's story had brought into her eyes several times had dried from furious blinking as excitement and revelation had struck her over the head. Now, she was staring an honest to goodness _clue,_ for _adventure._ Her head was painfully full of condolences, questions and general wondernments, but instead of letting them all burst out, she uncurled herself and took the book from Ariel. She looked up at the knight, who nodded and smiled.

Irika opened the diary of Alwin of Heide. And couldn't read the difficult cursive at all. She let her face fall into the book and sighed. “I can't read this, the writing is too difficult.”

Ariel giggled at her muffled exasperation and beckoned her to return the book. “It's not very interesting anyways. I could almost see the light shining in your eyes, you would've been _so_ sorely disappointed.” She was still chuckling at Irika’s face. Irika had never been so utterly disappointed at not being able to read something in her entire life.

“The diary tells of just one of my grandfather's journeys across the sea to Obelea, the island state to the northwest. The tone he writes in makes it sound like he's been there before, but he doesn't recount any of those stories, and I have no idea where his other diaries might be. Maybe they don't even exist.” Ariel sighed and looked down at the book like it were an annoying gnat. “And even if they did, they would probably be just as unhelpful as this one. He wrote down all of his _breakfasts and lunches,_ for the Gods' sakes! And no, there's no hidden code within them either, I've let a State scribe look over this twice,” Ariel said, pre-empting Irika as she had been about to suggest exactly that. Irika closed her mouth, disappointed yet again.

Ariel put the book down on the bed, patted Irika’s head and smiled. “It does tell about the three packages that he brought, and what they contained, though. Three pieces of a mysterious mineral. He studied it extensively and all he could figure out was that it's not a metal, and that it was harder than steel. Seriously, that's it.” Ariel thumbed the prone book's pages to make a raspberry sound a few times.

“Did he write anything about where they're from?” Irika asked. She couldn't believe that there were really no clues as to where the mysterious pieces of the marble-like substance had come from or what they _really_ were. She looked over at Ariel's swords lined up against the wall. In terms of length and shape, it was pretty obvious what her grandfather's pieces of mineral had become.

“Nope, just that he 'obtained' them and the ‘Voice of the Goddess’ in 'a port' in Obelea. No specifics whatsoever,” Ariel said, making an annoyed face and one-handed air quotes at every part. She looked over at the swords too. “You probably already guessed that the mineral pieces became those swords. I made them myself. I'd say that they were much more trouble than they were worth, but honestly, they've saved my ass so many times that I'm glad I spent the effort.”

“How did you make them? I thought you said you sucked at forging!” Irika said, wincing slightly at the affronting description that just came out of her mouth.

“I sure did, and I still do. Those weren't forged. They couldn't be forged.” Ariel pondered for a moment. “I guess I might as well tell this story too, since it’s not nearly as long. After I left Heide, I brought the pieces to the Capital City. Stablemaster Regis and guildmaster Willem pitched in and gave me a horse and carriage, as the largest piece was way too heavy to carry unaided. I promised them I'd not run that horse ragged on my way back. My poor horse... I still feel horrible about him, after all these years,” Ariel said and looked uncharacteristically sad.

Irika's eyes welled up a little again as she thought about the fate of Ariel's first horse as a knight. No wonder Ariel had had an aversion towards the horses they had met in their travels. “That must've felt horrible. Poor horse. Poor _you,_ ” she sniffed.

Ariel smiled at her gently. “You're just too sweet sometimes, honestly.”

Irika felt her cheeks go a bit pink. At least she wasn't blushing like an early summer apple at every compliment as the night went on.

“I let a blacksmith friend whom I trusted look over the pieces at Capital City. We tried melting them down with everything he had, to no avail. We also tried all of his various tools on 'em and cracked every single one. Except one,” Ariel continued. She rummaged around in her traveling pack again, and produced a tiny shard of something. “Know what this is?” She handed the shard to Irika.

Irika turned the shard over in her hands. It was a piece of white, slightly translucent rock, a bit larger than her thumbnail and sharpened on one side. It looked a little bit similar to the material Ariel’s swords were made out of, except it was see-though and didn’t have those pale multi-hued stripes. “Some kind of gemstone?” she asked tentatively.

“Right you are again! It's called Cuanstone, and it's the national treasure and foremost trade good of our hospitable neighbors here.” Ariel picked up the shard from Irika's hand. “It's harder than even diamond, but also very brittle. If you made a sword of it, it would cut through most soft things easily, but crumble into pieces if you dropped it on the floor.”

“Harder than diamonds?” The only thing Irika remembered about diamonds was that they were often found on crowns and scepters of kings. “That doesn't tell me much since I don't really know how hard a diamond is. They’re very expensive, right?” Irika always felt slightly awkward and embarrassed over her lack of knowledge, despite Ariel never having minded it one bit. Another chance to learn from her.

“Yes, they're very expensive. They're basically the most useful things in the world if you want to carve, sharpen, file or engrave something that's very hard to work, such as some types of metal,” Ariel explained, picked up the metallic candlestand from the bedside table and gouged a deep line in it with the piece of Cuanstone. “Cuanstone can be used for a very similar purpose, but it breaks way more easily and is not nearly as expensive as diamonds. Diamonds are rare and make a very pretty gemstone. Cuanstone isn’t exactly common either, but at least it’s available. And you can’t really make decorations out of it because it just looks like a mess most of the time.” Ariel peered at Irika through her shard with one eye closed.

“So you used Cuanstone to carve the swords out of the big pieces of mineral?” Irika tried to imagine how much work it might've been, but couldn't.

“Yep. Blew all of my savings on importing Cuanstone through my connections at the smithy. Ordered a few chisels, used them 'till they were snubbed, sold the pretty-looking mineral dust I had shaved off, and repeated. It took me the better part of three years of using up most of my free time on these damn things.” The knight jabbed her thumb at her swords. “But like I said, It was still well worth it. I still don't have much savings to speak of because of them, but those swords should last me a lifetime and then some.”

“Are you sure they won't shatter at some point like a Cuanstone sword would?” Irika asked. The swords Ariel had seemed to handle punishment amazingly well, though.

Ariel grinned widely. “Wanna know about a blunder I did the first night I had returned to Capital City?”

Irika nodded rapidly. She would love to hear about any blunder of this otherwise seemingly perfect Landsknecht's.

“The smith I was talking about before helped me carry these things up to the tower where my storage space was. All knights get their own personal storage, see, and mine was on the fifth floor up a barracks tower.” Ariel's brow gathered. “It was sweaty work. At the fourth floor, we had to lay down the biggest slab against a wall and take a breather. Except we laid it right next to a guardhole. I leaned on it, it slipped from under me, and fell down from the fourth floor.”

Irika gasped, but then realized that nothing could've happened to it since the sword was still in one piece. “It was fine, though?” she asked the grinning knight.

“It sure was. Not only that, I saw it fall right onto a large boulder, lengthwise. I was all but certain it'd snap in half!” Ariel mimicked snapping something between her hands. “But nope. Instead, it crushed a visible trench into the rock on the spot where it fell, and rolled off it without a scratch. Not even a single chip came off the damn slab!”

Irika looked again at the wonderous swords in the corner with, if possible, more awe than ever before.

“That really flabbergasted the smith. ‘Even steel of that thickness would've been bent like a banana,’ he told me. I had to pay him to keep his mouth shut about my discovery. I had to pay him a lot more to keep him keeping his mouth shut for the next few years.” Ariel looked slightly miffed. “Bastard bled me dry. But I was allowed to work at the back of his shop, chipping away at the damn slabs. He even helped me plan the process out so that they came out sword-shaped and had the proper parts." She sighed and stashed the piece of Cuanstone she had been rolling in her fingers back into one of her pouches.

“Honestly though, I owe him even more than the considerable amount I paid. He even helped me come up with a fastening mechanism that could handle a sword of that weight and awkward shape.” Ariel glanced over at the greatsword called Alvar. "And even moreso in terms of keeping the mineral slabs a secret. The Knighthood would've likely confiscated such rare, precious raw materials and made weapons out of it for the very elite. Instead, I now had my own set of three miraculous swords, and claimed they were heirlooms and my lawful property.” Ariel grinned mischievously. “They never could say anything edgewise when something was the ‘lawful something’ of someone.”

Irika was amazed at Ariel’s craftiness. Finding a way to work mysterious materials into usable blades and tricking an entire military into believing they had always been hers. “You're so _cool_.” She blurted out. This time she didn't regret the blurt.

“I am, aren't I?” Ariel cackled like an old witch. “But no, I'm only telling you the cool parts. No way I'm gonna tell you about how I got my knuckles whipped and a week of house arrest for getting my assigned horse killed within a week of my induction, or how I got my knuckles whipped and a week of house arrest for causing property damage to a freaking _boulder_ and a part of the barracks wall, or how I got my knuckles whipped and a week of house arrest when I was found out sneaking chisels out of the workshop...”

She sighed. “I think I probably got my knuckles whipped more than all the other knights of my training group put together. What the hell even is it with them and whipping knuckles? I can understand the house arrest though. Gotta have time to mend those bloody knuckles,” she humphed bitterly.

Irika giggled at the thought of the cool lady knight receiving constant knuckle whipping. Her next thought drew her back to somber sobriety, though. “So what about the pirates? Have you heard any clues about them?”

“Not a one,” Ariel said and sighed again. “I did have my figurative ear to the ground for a while. Mercenary State is landlocked but does have sea access through rivers, and they do some overseas trading through other nations. I heard some news about pirates every now and then, but always just raiding supply ships or merchant ports. Nothing specific, and I've never heard anyone speak of the ‘Voice of the Goddess’ since. But...” Ariel picked up the iron pendant that she had placed on the bed at the very beginning of her story.

Irika had all but forgotten about the pendant. Ariel had said it had had something to do with the story, but it had never come up in the end. The hair at the back of her neck stood up as she stared at the ugly, poorly shaped lump of iron that not even she would have considered being a trinket worthy of wearing.

“Ever since that day, I have racked my brain over and over and over again, trying to figure out what the ‘Voice of the Goddess’ could possibly have been. As far as I’m aware, our entire household didn’t have any special heirlooms that had been passed down from my grandfather. Regis and I searched the alcove hidden under the forge thoroughly, and there was nothing else in there either. But this…” Ariel turned the pendant around in her fingers. “This originally belonged to him. He gave this to my mother as a wedding gift. My father told me that my grandfather was oddly adamant about my mother always keeping the pendant with her no matter what.”

Irika gasped. “Is _that_ the Voice of the Goddess?” she asked. She couldn’t see how something so ugly could be called something so grand. What would that even mean for a small trinket like this? What part of it was a voice or belonged to a goddess? Something at the back of her mind reminded her that fantastic things disguised as ordinary ones was not at all an unheard of concept in tales and legends, though.

“I… maybe. Probably not. Even if it is, I have no idea what it means, or why the pirates would have been after it. It’s more likely that they were just after the pieces of mineral and the rest was my grandfather’s delusion,” Ariel said and handed he pendant over to Irika.

Irika picked up the piece of iron and held it in her palm. No sooner than she had thought ‘ _it’s a bit heavier than it looks_ ’, the pendant suddenly felt warm in her hand. And then warmer. And soon enough it was almost too hot to bear. “Ah, ow!” Irika hissed, but for the life of her could not let go of the pendant o r tip her palm over . It was as if some force was holding her hand in place, as the pendant kept growing hotter and started to _glow._

“What…?” Ariel breathed, staring open-mouthed at the iron pendant, now shimmering a dull, deep red light on Irika’s palm.

Irika winced in pain as the pendant’s shimmer brightened and started to _melt_ the iron. Instead of burning through her flesh or puddling on her palm, the iron seemed to evaporate into thin air, as the glow brightened considerably and changed into a hue of pale gold.

 

“ _We meet again...”_

 

Irika stared at the pendant, transfixed. An extremely familiar voice roared over her mind like the chorus of a thousand bells, warming her from the inside out and making her heart swell and her soul thrum in pleasure. Ariel’s hand touching her shoulder brought her partway back to the bedroom in Drettil. “Did you… hear… something?” she asked, staring Irika straight in the eye.

Irika nodded, staring right back.

 

“ _This will make things clear.”_

 

Irika’s hand moved on its own, grabbing Ariel’s off her shoulder and intertwining their fingers, holding the pendant between their palms.

 

“ _Hello, Ariel. We finally meet.”_

 

“Ah!” Ariel cried, starting visibly at the voice. “Wait… You’re...”

“ _Yes._ _You are a child of the land, yet y ou may have heard my voice before. As for you,_ _Irika… You are already aware of me, are you not?_ ”

The voice lessened from the almost deafening din of crystalline echoes into a much quieter, but no less warm feminine voice that reminded Irika of so many people at once with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia.

“Yes. You helped me back in Brunn, didn’t you? And in the forest of Hilders. And in Cuan,” Irika recited.

The voice gave a small, tinkling titter that made Irika’s lips stretch into a smile on their own. Opposite to her, Ariel was also smiling.

“ _Yes. We have always been together.”_

Irika jolted at the statement. “Always?” she asked, the pit of her stomach feeling hollow and tingly. Could it be? Could what she had considered before be true? That this being who had saved her and helped her had been there to watch over her, even during the horrors she had experienced when she was a child?

The tone of the voice turned downcast, the omnipresent tinkling changing to resemble something like gentle rain.

“ _Yes. You have suffered much. I have always watched over you, for you are_ _a child of the sky,_ _my kin. My blood. But I am bereft of my power. I am apart. You now hold a piece of me, and are in possession of much of me._ ”

Both Irika and Ariel turned to stare at the three beautiful swords leaning against the bedroom wall with thorough understanding. They were all emitting a subtle, gentle glow in the same pale golden color as the pendant, the smaller two even through their leather scabbards.

“ _I have used much of what remains to aid you in your journey. I have made a grave error in thinking_ He _would not notice. The rest is up to you. The ring will lead the way._ ”

The voice grew quieter and quieter as it went on, dying out entirely at the final sentence that still seemed to echo in the room.

“ _The r_ _ing will lead the way_ _._ ”

Ariel stared at Irika, eyes wide open. Irika stared back with her mouth wide open. The pendant slipped from between their hands and landed on the bed, no longer hot nor glowing. It had turned from an ugly malformed piece of iron into an immaculate, beautiful oval of a white, marble-like material with parallel streaks of pale hues of blue, green and red running across it. On Ariel’s little finger, the dull brass ring that used to belong to Irika’s mother seemed to glow a pale golden color for but an instant.

 

 

_The Ties That Bind_

 

Ariel’s shock at what had just happened had hardly subsided, when Irika grabbed her hand into both of hers and stared at the ring adorning her little finger. “Did you hear what the voice said?” she asked, breathing as if she had just run a mile.

Ariel lifted her pinky in the air and let Irika extract the dull-looking brass ring from her finger. It had belonged to Irika’s mother and evidently had some magical qualities, as Irika’s electrifying magic had not been nearly as effective on Ariel when she had been in possession of it.

Irika turned the ring in her hands and stared at it with a desperate hunger. “Magic,” she muttered, squeezed the ring into her fist and closed her eyes. After a moment of concentration, a small crackling of sparks emanated from between her fingers. She opened her hand to find the ring looking exactly like before. She let out an exasperated sigh.

“Can I?” Ariel asked. She couldn’t fathom what she could possibly do to unlock the ring’s secrets if Irika’s magic wasn’t able to, but wanted to try regardless.

“Sure,” Irika said and handed the ring over.

Ariel turned it in her hands and peered at it from as close as she could. It was a thoroughly boring ring with no markings or any other sort of special features. “Maybe the ring will do something if we meet some special conditions?” Ariel suggested.

“Maybe,” Irika said, sounding defeated.

Ariel mimicked Irika, squeezing the ring and pretending to cast some kind of magic. She knew excruciatingly well that her magical skill was zero, but it wasn’t like they had any other clues. “Maybe it just requires _my_ kind of magic,” she quipped and grinned at Irika in an attempt to cheer her up. When nothing happened to nobody’s surprise, she handed the ring back to Irika.

Irika smiled weakly at Ariel and picked it up from her hand. “Wait...” her eyes widened at Ariel’s hand instead. “What’s that?” she asked.

Ariel looked at her palm. Something was written on it in a handwriting-like cursive. “ _...this ring, I am like..._ ” Ariel read. “What, what, why?” she asked Irika, unable to form a coherent sentence.

“Paper,” Irika said, bouncing up from the bed. She bolted towards the writing desk in the corner of the room, swept up a handful of loose parchments off it and skipped back to the bed. She threw the stack of paper onto the bed and placed the ring on top of it. Nothing happened.

“Try magic again?” Ariel suggested. Seemed like it couldn’t do any harm, at the very least.

Irika scrunched her brow, pointed her right index finger at the ring and sent a small zap of electricity at it. At first, nothing happened again. But after waiting patiently for a few moments, writing started to appear on the piece of parchment, and many sheets under it. "I can’t believe it,” Irika said, and her face showed it.

Ariel could hardly believe it either, but nothing magical really truly surprised her anymore at this point. The versatility of magic mainly served to remind her of her shortcomings.

“Could you… could you read it?” Irika asked.

Ariel started. “Why me?” she asked. Wouldn’t Irika rather read the words spilling out of a memento of her mother herself?

“If… if it’s my mother’s, I-I don’t know if I can,” Irika said, her voice trembling slightly.

Ariel’s heart twinged. Despite the events in Brunn feeling like they had happened ages ago, it had only been mere weeks since Irika had lost her mother after all. She picked up the stack of papers and looked over the text. It was a neat, scholarly handwriting, hardly reminiscent of anything a member of the lower classes would ever write. “To Irika, by Anabel of Esel,” she read. Irika shuddered visibly.

Ariel crossed her legs in an open lotus position and opened her arm. “Come here,” she said and beckoned Irika over.

Irika stared at her incredulously. A small, timid blush rose on her face, but after a moment she crawled into Ariel’s lap, turned around and leaned back against her chest.

“I’ll read it to you. Just… listen. I’m here,” Ariel said. Irika’s warm, shivering form was pleasantly heavy against her chest. She dropped the stack of parchment onto the bed and gently stroked Irika’s hair for a moment. She wanted to just hold her there and keep her safe forever. She had wanted this for Gods know how long, but had been avoiding this for a variety of reasons which all felt arbitrary and stupid now. She wanted to turn Irika around and kiss her, to hold her closer than was physically possible. But for now, she would be a reassuring pillar for Irika to lean on while she read her mother’s letter to her, and would help her deal with whatever was within no matter what.

 

_Irika. If you have discovered the secret of this ring, I am likely dead, or at the very least my past has caught up with me._

_There are so many things about which I have kept you in the dark. Despite your having been very young and poorly developed when I took you in, y o u likely kn ew from the very start that you are not really my child. I have no children of my own, but I do have siblings. My younger sister, Frida, was your real mother. She was exiled from our home city of Esel after ‘consorting with dark forces’. She, like all the women in my mother’s bloodline, was a witch. Yes, I too am one, as you have probably already guessed from this enchanted letter. After my sister’s exile, our family became ostracized from the community. My father killed himself out of shame, my elder brother was murdered out of spite , and my mother died of grief over the two years following Frida’s fate. My elder sister Cairin may still be alive, but it has been almost two decades since I’ve heard from her._

_I followed in Frida’s tracks, being unable to stand the city that had destroyed my family. Her tracks eventually led me to Brunn, where I learned that she had been forced to settle into living in the slums, and that she had given birth to a child. The timeline did not make sense to me; I was absolutely certain that she had not had a lover back in Esel, and there had not been enough time for her to find one in Brunn or the road to there before you were born. I had never heard the truth about that ‘consorting with dark forces’ that she had been exiled for, but I immediately started having my suspicions._

_I approached her, but it was as if she didn’t even recognize me. We had been as close as two siblings could get, but she treated me like a stranger. And as years went by, I realized that she treated her child, you, like a stranger as well. Later on she became worse; demented. I could hear her shouting at you and abusing you. I will never forgive myself for not stepping in earlier. We had been raised with a tough hand by our own mother, and I thought it was a mother’s right to punish their child. If only I had known that there had never been a ny reason for any of the punishments. If only I had done something to save you from your childhood. I’m so sorry._

_Eleven years after arriving in Brunn, your mother killed herself. She tried to kill you as well, but could not do so directly. Whether it was because of emotion or magic, I do not know. Instead, she tried to do it in a roundabout manner only after her own life had ebbed away, and failed. You were left alive, but horrifically injured. I took you to a healer of the local church and threatened her to heal you. She and I worked together for three days and three nights, and managed to save your life. It was a miracle unlike anything either of us had ever seen._

_You are a very intelligent child, so you have undoubtedly figured out by know that your birth, your survival and your entire being are likely deeply connected with magic. Maybe more so than any other sorcerer in history. This suspicion is greatly affirmed by your overflowing magic; I have never seen nor heard of a witch or sorcerer who had amassed so much raw magical power so young. This may not be a pleasant thing to hear, but I think it is essential for you to understand to accept yourself and to accept everything that has happened to you. I consider myself correct in suspecting that your father is likely not a human. I could not possibly begin to guess who or what he is, but one thing is for certain. Whatever he is, he is a being of goodness. Nothing evil could ever give birth to someone as good as you. Even your mother, before turning into a shade of her past self, was as good as they came. In different circumstances, she would have been the best mother. In this awful, magic-hating world, she turned out to be the worst._

_Whether I have passed on or been captured by my past, you should seek out your aunt Cairin in Esel. If she is still alive, she may be able to take care of you, guide you and aid you in understanding everything. She may not welcome you at first, but rest assured, she is just as good as all of us. Fate made us bitter and secluded. Please don’t let it do the same to you. You have the potential to be and accomplish whatever you may ever want. And know that whatever that is, I will always love you._

_Anabel_

 

Ariel set down the final page of the letter and squeezed Irika against her chest. She found it impossible to stop her tears as Irika hugged her and cried. And how much more justified could tears be anyhow, as they had both just relived all of their worst memories in turn. They spent a long while just being together, huddled at the end of the bed. Night had undoubtedly already fallen, though it was impossible to tell from within the underground building. Ariel’s story time had stretched on for hours and left her both physically and mentally exhausted. But still, somehow, there was a sense of catharsis somewhere in there. Holding Irika close, rocking her softly sniffling form gently felt _right_. It felt more right than anything Ariel had done in years. Ever, perhaps.

As sad as Ariel felt for Irika, she was also glad that the young sorceress had gotten some closure for what had happened in Brunn, and something to latch onto for the future. Ariel knew intimately how being aimless and lost could make you lose sight of everything, and that any sort of lifeline giving you direction could be worth more than gold. In addition to the revelations in Irika’s mother’s letter, the both of them had just been slapped in the face with the most mysterious and fantastic revelation of a lifetime, and immediately left completely clueless as to what it all meant. The warm, mysterious voice had said that Irika already knew her, had she been struggling with something like this all along?

“Hey...” Ariel began, stroking Irika’s hair.

“Yeah?” Irika answered quietly and lifted her catlike grey eyes to meet Ariel’s. Even with her face covered in tears and snot and her hair messy and sticking up every which way, Irika really was beautiful.

“That voice from before. It… she said that you knew her,” Ariel said tentatively, letting Irika decide whether she wanted to say anything.

“Yeah,” Irika said without pause. “The first time I heard her was just before Brunn. Just before… y-you know.” She sniffled a bit.

Ariel squeezed Irika’s shoulder gently, reached backwards to the nightstand next to the bed and pulled the tablecloth from it, unceremoniously tipping everything on the stand onto the floor. “Here, you have some… everything… on your… everywhere,” she said and pushed the cloth into Irika’s face.

Irika giggled thickly and grabbed the cloth. She wiped her eyes and face with the cloth and blew her nose in it with a trumpeting sound.

“Charming,” Ariel said and grinned down at Irika.

“Yeah and I bet _you_ look like a _goddess_ when you blow your nose,” Irika retorted and jabbed her in the ribs with a small grin.

Ariel’s heart squeezed so hard she had to squeeze Irika again. There was _no way_ she was going to spend a single day out of her life without this adorable girl, this beautiful young woman, ever again. But infuriating reason brought her mind back to business. “And after Brunn?” she asked.

“After Brunn it was… I think it was when I was recuperating at Ries and Ferdinand’s place. And then, I think I dreamed of her a couple of times. And finally at the Hilders forest…” Irika fell quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry what happened in there,” she finally said.

Ariel was taken aback by the apology. “What why?” she asked, maybe a bit too forcefully as Irika flinched a little.

“Well, you know...” she said timidly. “For leaving you behind. It was… rude. And then I made you chase me all the way here,” Irika said, hiding her head in Ariel’s chest.

Ariel couldn’t help but laugh. “Ahaha. I fail to protect you, desperately chase you for my own selfish reasons and then _you_ apologize to _me?_ ” she felt embarrassed, angry at herself and absolutely, completely, head over heels in love with Irika. She pushed her away from her chest and kissed her on the mouth.

“Mmph!” Irika said.

“Mmm,” Ariel said.

After the immediate shock during which Ariel was certain she was gonna get punched in the gut or smitten down by the heavens, Irika threw her arms behind Ariel’s head and pushed herself back into the kiss. Ariel could barely stay conscious because of what was happening, even when she had initiated it herself. After Gods know how many seconds or minutes or hours, she had to push Irika away and gasp for breath. Irika did the same, slightly blue in the face.

“I- I umm,” Irika immediately stammered, but Ariel put a finger on her lips.

“Shh,” she hushed. She needed a moment to let her brain catch up with what she had just done.

At the ripe old age of twenty-seven, Ariel had just experienced her very first romantic kiss. The thought alone made her want to crumple into herself and throw herself into a waste basket. But the other half of the equation was pure elation. She had just kissed Irika. And Irika had kissed her back! “Was that alright?” she asked and immediately regretted how it came out. “I- I mean, you didn’t… hate it?” she continued.

Irika was staring at her, flabbergasted. “Are you freaking kidding me? I’ve been in love with you since like… Brunn,” she said bluntly. After a short, silent moment during which Irika’s face took on the color of a ripe tomato, they both dissolved into soft giggles.

“Since _Brunn_ ?” Ariel asked amidst her titters. “Pathetic, _I_ thought you were cute all the way back in _Alaum_.”

Irika snorted and started to laugh in earnest. “Yeah, nothing more attractive than a dirty, scrawny kid almost being eaten by a dragon and then waking you up with an explosion,” she wheezed.

“Nope,” Ariel said earnestly and looked Irika in the eye. It may not have been _entirely_ true, but she definitely had felt some kind of an attraction to her at the very first sight. Irika was brave, smart and kind, and all things considered, pretty dang cute too. She just needed a bit more meat on her bones. Ariel was certain Irika would melt from embarrassment if she told her all of those things, though. So she did.

Irika stared at her, still very red in the face. “Well, I’ll have you know that I have never been s-s-sexually excited in my life before I saw you naked in the Hilders bath!” she said, swallowing heavily right afterward.

Ariel’s plan had thoroughly backfired. It was her who was blown away. Heat shot up into her head and her vision went blurry. _S-s-sexually excited?_ By _her_?

Before Ariel could begin to gather herself, she felt Irika’s arms wrapping around her. The sorceress hugged her tightly, pushing her face into her chest. “I can’t believe it,” she said. “This is some kind of an evil dream, right? And I’m gonna wake up and be really pissed off.”

Ariel detached Irika from her chest and gave her a much more restrained and gentle kiss on the lips. “How about… we see how long we can make this dream last?” she asked and stroked Irika’s cheek.

Irika’s eyes were unfocused from the kiss, but her nod was extremely determined. “I’d like that,” she said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, you! Check out The Sword and the Storm extras chapter 1 for a little extra hint on the origins of Ariel's mysterious blades! I mean, if you wanna.  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/15933605/chapters/37152767


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